Vigorous Vitality
by NeoNazo356
Summary: Second chances are a rarity in this world, but at Yuuei High School, you get Three. Follow the story of an unlikely aspirant hero as he puts it all on the line to get his name out there and cement his future as an amazing hero. [ In Loving Memory of Stan Lee: December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018 ] Go Beyond! EXCELSIOR!
1. Ready, Set, GO!

" **If you have an idea, that you genuinely think is good, something you want to do, something that means something to you, try to do it. Because I think, you can only do your best work if you're doing what you want to do… and if you're doing it the way you think it should be done, and if you can take pride in that after you've done it, no matter what it is, you can look at it and say- 'I did that. I think it's pretty damn good.' -, that's a great feeling."**

 **Stan Lee – UCLA Graduation Ceremony Keynote Speech 2017**

 _ ***MHA***_

Following the villain attack at the USJ, the Yuuei Sports Festival began in earnest, undeterred by potential threat of a subsequent strike as security was strengthened to quintuple its previous measures.

The Sports Festival was more than just a way for Hero Course students to show off to potential Agencies and Sponsors. It was also a way for those who fell short at the Entrance Exam to get promoted _into_ the Hero Course and pursue their dreams of becoming a great Hero anew.

One such student was going to give it everything he had, Plus Ultra-style!

"Now, without any further delay, let's get the first event started!" Nemuri Kayama aka "The R-Rated Hero: Midnight", boldly proclaimed from the referee's stand following the quote/unquote "speech" given by Katsuki Bakugou, the highest-scoring participant of the Entrance Exam. "These are the qualifying rounds, and it's here that many are sent home crying every year. Thus, the first event of this year's Sports Festival is…" she announced as the jumbo screen behind her became alight with a massive slot machine-esque reel, the event placards spinning wildly in a blur of color before revealing… "THIS!"

 **OBSTACLE COURSE RACE**

"For those of you not familiar with this event type, the Obstacle Course Race is exactly as the name implies, a race between every member of all eleven classes," Midnight announced as the massive gates at one end of the arena began to open. "The course is a four-kilometer lap around the stadium itself! Our school preaches freedom in all things, so as long as you don't go off the course, anything is _fair game_!"

The rules laid down, tension began to mount amidst the participating classes. Those wanting to push themselves purely for the sake of competition. Those with something to prove. Those willing to stab one another in the back. As many reasons for as many people to compete culminating in a single location.

"Racers, to your positions!"

The competitors shifting their feet to get a better grip on the stadium ground, the three lights above the gate began to alight in sequence.

"Ready… Set… GOOOOO!"

The blaring of a horn and a starting gun firing off, the gathered students all surged forward in a veritable stampede, Quirks of all sorts steadily coming to bare as dreams and aspirations clashed against one another.

 _ ***MHA***_

 **In loving memory of Stan Lee, who inspired us all to Be Greater.**

 **GO BEYOND!**

 **EXCELSIOR!**


	2. The First Event

The gauntlet sufficiently thrown down, everyone poured into the gate leading to the obstacle course proper and the first hurdle. However, as bodies frantically pressed against one another, elbows and knees flying every which way as tensions grew…

' _Ah! The starting gate itself, it's…'_ Izuku's keen mind deduced the moment bodies began pressing against him and all his forward momentum ground to a halt.

' _The first filter…'_ Todoroki thought, unknowingly finishing Izuku's train of thought.

Willing his right half to life, a sudden cold-front swept through the tunnel, the temperature dropping like a lead weight as the moisture in the air began to crystallize. As Shoto broke away from the pack, all those in his wake cried out angrily as they found their feet frozen to the ground.

"Yowch!"

"I'm all frozen!"

"Can't move!"

"So cold!"

"That bastard!"

' _Sorry, but it's for the best that you all remain here,'_ Shoto thought as he ran.

"Too easy, Todoroki!" a familiar voice punctuated by explosions sounded out. "I ain't letting you get ahead that easy, half n' half!" Katsuki Bakugou shouted as he used his Quirk to fly above the rank and file, his fellow classmates using their own superhuman abilities to soar above the competition, passing through the first filter.

"I expected more from our class, but… more made it past than I thought there would…" Shoto thought to himself as he glanced over his shoulder.

"Good thinking, staying two steps ahead of us, Todoroki, but now it's _my_ turn!" Mineta Minoru cried as he used his [Pop Off] to hop, skip, and jump his way towards him, his small stature giving him speed and agility in relation to their size that most of his peers lacked. "How about a taste of my ultimate technique, GRAPE RUUUS-"

Before the grape-headed teen could finish his declaration, a blocky blur of green suddenly swept in from nowhere and struck him in his exposed left flank, tears streaming from the teen's eyes as he was sent for a loop.

"Mineta!" Izuku cried in shock as the faux villains from the entrance exam began to appear where the track opened up.

"That's right folks! Every obstacle course needs obstacles!" Present Mic commentated enthusiastically. "And what better obstacle to start out with than… ROBO INFERNOOOOO!" he cried as the looming forms of a half-dozen Zero-Pointers began to amble towards them.

"It's the Zero-Pointers from the exam!"

"Seriously?! The Hero Course kids had to fight _those_?!"

"Too many… There's no way past!" various students began to cry out as they gave in to despair.

"So these are the faux villains they used for everyone else's test?" Shoto hummed as he observed the mounting wall of metal before him. Having gotten in on recommendation, this was the first time he'd ever beheld these mechanical entities.

"Where'd they even find the _money_ for these…?" Momo Yaoyarozu questioned as she appraised the value of the exterior metal components _alone_ , let alone the cost of their internal components, labor, and maintenance.

' _Hmph… Kinda wished they'd prepared something a little more_ threatening _…'_ Shoto hummed as the Zero-Pointers turned their attention toward the front-most target; himself. A massive mechanical hand bearing down towards him, once more Todoroki willed the moisture around him to chill, a crystallizing wave of ice sweeping across the ground and cradling the underside of the Zero-Pointers as he threw up his hand, stopping them in their tracks.

"He… He stopped 'em! We can get through that gap!" a hopeful student cried.

"Bad idea. I froze them in pretty unstable positions so they'd fall," Shoto said plainly as the ice entombing the Zero-Pointers began to crack until breaking entirely, an earth-shaking avalanche of steel closing off his own avenue.

"OH! 1-A's Todoroki busted through Robo Inferno and sabotaged his competitors in a single move! Talk about ice-cold!" Present Mic crooned as the dust began to settle.

"C'mon…! Think…! Think…!" Izuku cried to himself as his peers began to surmount this second obstacle in their own way, his own feet firmly on the ground as his peers soared. "How do I get past this?" he asked as his mind raced.

The next moment, a figure with shiny brown hair shot past him, zipping easily around the lesser faux villains and leaving an impressive cloud of dust in their wake.

"Uwah!? So fast?!" Izuku gawped. "But wait, if that isn't Iida, then who…?" he asked as the figure dove into the wreckage of the Zero-Pointers with reckless abandon. Limbs contorting, Izuku could only follow the figure for a few moments before before they squeezed into impossibly-tight and narrow spaces, following after Todoroki faster than those taking a more _vertical_ approach.

 _ ***MHA***_

After breezing through the second obstacle, Shoto Todoroki continued his jog through the Obstacle Race, assured that collapsing the off-balance Zero-Pointers would enable him a few extra minutes of breathing room before any sort of competition began to catch up.

However, _that_ sentiment swiftly died in his mind as the sound of rushing air and rapid footsteps met his ears. Looking over his left shoulder, Shoto briefly glimpsed a flash of oily brown hair amidst the cone of dust that shot past him a moment later, leaving him sufficiently _in it_ as the dust-maker continued to widen the gap between itself and he.

' _Was that Iida?'_ Shoto thought as his leading position was stolen from him. _'No… Iida's never moved that fast, and even if he could, I couldn't hear his [Engine]. This has to be someone new. Someone with a significant speed advantage,'_ the teen thought as he picked up the pace.

While his combination of [Subzero] and [Hellfire] was indeed powerful, it didn't magically allow him to keep pace with those who had superior _physical_ abilities. And it wasn't hard to believe that someone like that might slip between the cracks just because they couldn't destroy military-grade robots on-demand.

 _ ***MHA***_

"Incredible! Shoto Todoroki whose lead has been largely uncontested… has just been left in the dust! _Literally_!" Present Mic crooned as one of the camera-bots picked up the sudden upset, a certain flame-faced second-place hero's beard flaring up in anger at said upset. "The current leaders of the pack are overwhelmingly from Class 1-A, but it looks like we've got a dark horse in this contest! So epic!"

' _Class 1-A knows there's no time to hesitate,'_ Shota Aizawa ruminated as he watched the various feeds. _'They've been exposed to the outside world, up close and personal. They've had that_ fear _planted in them, and they've endured it._ Overcome _it. Each has grown from that experience, and forgotten what it means to hesitate,'_ he though as his eyes turned to the "dark horse" of the Obstacle Course Race. _'However… The Sports Festival is exactly the kind of place where those who couldn't shine during the Entrance Exam are able to stand out in a way more-condusive to those whose Quirks aren't as flashy or destructive as their contemporaries,'_ he then thought as the gap between Todoroki and first place continued to widen.

"Aaalright, folks! It looks like our dark horse has reached the second obstacle! Fall and you're out! You'll have'ta _crawl_ across if you want to make it!" Present Mic announced as the aerial drones revealed the next obstacle- "This is… THE FAAAAAAALL!" -, a collection of earthen pillars jutting out of a pitch-black abyss interconnected randomly by a series of tightropes. "Our dark horse is the first to make it, so how will he use the _massive_ lead he has on his competition?"

At this, said "dark horse" regarded the obstacle before him, two thin strands of hair, now-revealed to be _antennae_ , flickering as the wind howled between the earthen pillars. Memorizing the layout of the pillars and their respective tightropes, the oily-haired brunette pulled his shirt over his head as he stepped back once, twice, ten times…

Then turned around completely and ran off, his uniform shirt fluttering to the ground, much to the shock of announcer and spectators alike as he ran _away_ from The Fall.

 _ ***MHA***_

' _Whoever that was that passed me a minute ago, his speed was nothing short of incredible,'_ Shoto found himself admitting as he jogged hastily towards the third obstacle. _'Huh? Is that…?'_

Squinting his eyes in the morning sun, Shoto realized that the owner of the dust cloud from before was backtracking towards _him_ , allowing the dual-wielder of [Subzero] and [Hellfire] to get a better look at the one who had completely eclipsed him moments before as they dug their heels into the ground and came to a stop next to him.

Clad in the same Yuuei Academy P.E. uniform as himself sans the shirt, the student was of average height with a lean muscular build, his face plain though leaning towards feminine, but not so-feminine they'd be mistaken for a girl. His shoulder-length hair glistened as though it were oiled, parted away from his face with a pair of foot-long antennae sticking out from atop his head.

Before Shoto could discern what kind of Mutant-Type Quirk his competitor possessed, they had taken a massive gulp of air before shooting off like a rocket from whence he came, twiceover leaving him in the dust.

' _This is starting to get annoying…!'_ Todoroki grumbled to himself as he shook the dirt out of his uniform and hair.

 _ ***MHA***_

"Holy _cow_! That General Course student is really _booking_!" Present Mic gawped as aforementioned student once again passed Todoroki, his speed nothing short of incredible as he left a cone of dust in his wake. "But wait… He isn't going to try and _jump_ it, is he?!"

"Someone with such an advanced understanding of their Quirk wouldn't attempt to build that much speed back up unless they had a plan in mind," Aizawa stated as he monitored the feed. "However, speed like this could easily backfire. If he doesn't have the reflexes to match, he could just-as-easily run himself out-of-bounds."

"Well, it's a good thing we have adequate _padding_ down there, otherwise it could be a bit of a _splash zone_!"

Everyone's eyes on the competitor as the camera-equipped aerial drones struggled to keep up, the amount of runway remaining before the edge of The Fall continued to shrink more and more with every passing second. Spectators sucking in a breath wondering whether or not the brown-haired student would fall in or not, their unspoken question was answered when a cloud of dust was kicked up at the very edge of the second obstacle, an errant gust of wind revealing a crater with two shoeprints in the bottom, their creator soaring through the air.

"Hm. It looks like discarding his shirt earlier was done to reduce drag and air resistance," Aizawa hummed.

"Glad he didn't take off his pants! This program's still PG-13!" Present Mic added.

The student nearing the zenith of his flight, the drones following after him were able to get a shot of his back, revealing two chitinous brown plates with a similar oily sheen to his hair. The next moment a pair of insectile wings folded out to full size, fluttering wildly.

"So he's an amazing _bug_ -like Mutant," Present Mic hummed enthusiastically. "But it doesn't look like he has enough airtime left to clear The Fall in a single bound! Whatever will he do?" he asked with dramatic flair.

The brown-haired insect-like teen positioning both arms behind him in a way that Aizawa found reminiscent of Katsuki Bakugou when he used his [Explosion] as a mid-air booster rocket during the 50 Meter Dash, said teen inhaled a large breath of air as gravity began to take hold of him once more, his fluttering wings doing very little to save off the inevitable.

" **Ultimate Move:…** " the insect-like teen intoned as many pores in the palms of his hands began to dilate until they resembled twin circular vents. " **Goki Thruster**!" he called out, the vents in his hands releasing a loud engine-like hiss as he was suddenly shot forward with renewed energy, the far edge of The Fall growing closer and closer with each passing moment. Empty space swiftly rising up to meet him even with his added inertia, the teen leaned forward and positioned both palms beneath himself in a Hadoken-like pose, his wings retracting into his back as lines of throbbing veins snaked their way down his arms. " **Goki _Blast_**!"

"WHOA! Did he just do a Double Jump?!" Present Mic gawped as a much _louder_ engine-like hiss erupted from the teen's palms, giving him the extra kick needed to clear The Fall in a single bound. "And like that, our dark horse has left another obstacle in the dust!" he announced as the competitor took a moment to catch his breath before ascending the stairs toward the final obstacle. "Alright folks, I know it feels a bit early compared to previous years, but it's time to announce the final barrier!"

" . . . Are you _serious_?" the oily-haired "dark horse" asked with a twitching brow -and antennae to match- as he beheld the sign that greeted him.

 **DANGER**

 **MINES**

"That's right! The third obstacle is a deadly Afghan Carpet, The MINEFIELD!" Present Mic announced as the "dark horse" beheld the expansive field before him, circular discs of recently-upturned earth revealing the location of aforementioned mines. "A quick glance is enough to reveal the mines' locations, so keep your eyes open and watch your step, new guy! We're all rooting for ya!"

"Well…" the oily-haired brunette hummed as he paused to catch his breath. "At least they made it _kind of_ easy."

"I should probably mention, our mines don't pack a deadly punch, but… They're loud and flash-enough that you might need a change of underwear when it's all over!"

"Depending on the individual, of course," the bandage-muffled voice of Eraserhead commented.

"Fresh pants _will_ be available to anyone who needs them afterwards!" Present Mic added.

"Remember what your mom told you… If you have time to think, you have time to move…" the oily-haired teen thought as he regarded the obstacle before him one more time. However, with his then-current vantage point, it was incredibly difficult to map out the far-side of the minefield from where he was standing. "Guess there's only one way around it then."

"Wait! Is he doing what I _think_ he's doing?" Present Mic asked as the "dark horse" turned around and rounded the corner, backtracking towards The Fall, albeit at a more-sedate pace than before.

"Given what he's shown us, I wouldn't put it past him _,_ " Aizawa stated as the oily-haired teen backtracked until he had the stairs at the tail-end of The Fall at his back.

Looking over his shoulder to see that the runner-up, Shoto Todoroki, had yet to reach The Fall, the teen took his time filling his lungs with air time and time again, forcing the good air in and the bad air out as his skin breathed. Dropping down onto all fours, his toes digging into the dirt for lack of starting blocks, the crowd in the arena slowly grew silent, the tension mounting as, for a brief moment, you could almost hear a pin drop. However, that all changed when the ground at the teen's feet exploded underneath him, off like a shot once again as the crowd erupted into cheers at the show going on before them, the mass media utterly _devouring_ the sudden upset of the entire Hero Course being summarily eclipsed like this by a complete unknown.

"Faster…! Faster…! Faster…! _Faster_ …!" the brunette chanted as he continued to pick up speed, The Minefield growing closer and closer by the second as he poured on the blps. "MAX SPEED!" he roared out as he poured on a final burst of speed, diving into The Minefield headlong as fast as his legs could carry him.

The brunette crossing entire meters with every passing second, antennae drawn backwards from atop his head, a nearly-inaudible _***Click***_ heralded a large plume of pink-tinged smoke as one of the mines went off, their detonator _literally_ several steps ahead of them by the time the cloud reached its zenith.

To everyone's amazement this trend continued to hold, pink plumes of smoke belching upward into the air every few seconds but _much_ too late to impede the one that set off the trigger, the brown-haired blur tearing a dusty contrail across The Minefield until he'd passed the last row of explosives, nothing left to bar him from absolute victory as he entered the final bottleneck, a near-perfect mirror of the first aside from the fact it was completely unoccupied.

"IIINCREDIBLLLLE!" Present Mic shouted as the brown-haired teen exploded from the darkness and into the light, meeting a typhoon of cheering spectators and adulation upon his arrival. "At a record- _shattering_ four minutes and thirty seconds," he announced as the record-breaker unfurled his wings like parachutes on a fighter jet and unleashing concentrated jets of air from his palms right in front of him. "The absolutely _undisputed_ winner of the Obstacle Course Race is…" he said pausing for effect. " . . . Genki Gokiburi of the General Course! What an _UPSET_!" he cried out, the audience exploding into cheers as the previous record of ten minutes and forty seconds was completely _annihilated._

 _ ***MHA***_

 **AN:  
The MC's name, Genki Gokiburi, takes cues from both Stan Lee and Kosei Horikoshi's respective character-naming styles. From Stan Lee it's the fact that his Given and Family name both start with G, making it Alliterative. From Kosei Horikoshi, it's that his name is **_**extremely**_ **indicative as to the nature of his Quirk.**

 **The MC's Given name translates into words like Healthy, Robust, Energy, Vitality, Spirit, Vigor, Pep, Courage, Stamina, Vim, and Vigour depending on the Kanji, and any** _ **one**_ **of those words could be used to describe Genki's performance in the Obstacle Race.**

 **Stan Lee, you led an incredible life, and while 95 years in of** _ **itself**_ **is nothing to scoff at, what you've created, what you've** _ **inspired**_ **-My Hero Academia** _ **included-**_ **will let you transcend Mistress Death and remain in the hearts of those your work has captivated even** _ **centuries**_ **after you're gone. I know that there are** _ **loads**_ **of "in honor of" stories in your name already, but this is more than a one-off. This story had been in the planning stages for a long time, but after you died, I decided to take cues from both yourself and Horikoshi -Izuku = Spier-Man, anyone?-, and rework the name so he was alliterative like Peter Parker (Spider-Man), Joey Jones (Hero Man), Dr. Doom (Fantastic Four), and so-on.**

 **So Stan, if the life I live can even be 1% as-amazing as yours was… I think I'd be alright with that, and I'll see you soon in the next world in sixty, maybe seventy years depending on health choices and whether or not the government allows me to protect myself with firearms.**

 **GO BEYOND!**

 **EXCELSIOR!**


	3. The First Event's Aftermath

"INCREDIBLE! At a record- _shattering_ four minutes and thirty seconds, the winner of the Obstacle Course Race is… Genki Gokiburi of the General Course!" Present Mic screamed into the microphone, the audience exploding into cheers as the previous record of eleven minutes and eight seconds was completely _annihilated_.

"What? No way!" Izuku cried, his stomach sinking, as first place was snatched away from him.

"So fast!" Tenya gaped.

"DAMMIT!" Bakugou cried as he tore through the air after the nowsecond-place Todoroki.

The news that First Place had been taken swept through the competitors like a dread wave. Many who had _just_ passed Robo Inferno or were still being held up at it gave up altogether. Despite the fact that the most any of them could aspire to _now_ was "first loser", the many hopefuls that refused to give up redoubled their efforts, The Fall coming up for many.

"Looks like it's _my_ turn to make a splash," Tsuyu Asui hummed as she dropped down to her haunches before leaping into the air, speedily creeping across the tightrope with her Mutant-borne agility and dexterity.

"So fast!" Mina Ashido gaped, Ochako Uraraka right beside her. Their musings were then cut off by a frenzied chuckling.

"Heh heh heh heh heh… Time for my _support_ items to get the spotlight!" Mei Hatsume of the Support Course chuckled. "I may've lost out to someone from the General Course, but that's okay. As long as my babies get the recognition they deserve, it's still my win!"

"Wait, she's _allowed_ to have those things?!" Mina complained witnessing he plethora of gadgets on the pink-haired girl's person.

"Don't complain. You Hero Course kids have all sorts of _practical_ combat training, so it's only fair that the Support Course gets to bring in their _own_ work," Mei argued. "Provided of course that they're items and costumes we developed _ourselves_ ," she hummed in satisfaction at leaving her own peers in 1- _F_ in the dust. No-one from the Support Course would call _her_ class the Bronze Medal after today.

Of course, even amidst the banter and creative Quirk use, Shoto Todoroki was even now well-ahead of his peers, using his [Subzero] to glide across the now-frozen tightropes with the help of his specialized soles. Even though first place was now beyond his grasp, he had no intention of giving up second place without a fight.

The first thing that Shoto noticed when he reached The Minefield was that there was already a line of mines that had been detonated by the now-known Genki. However, the line didn't cut through _all_ of the mines in a neat line. Based on the speed displayed previously, it only made sense that his strides were far longer than his own, so even if he took the exact same route, he'd still need to be wary of the mines Genki _hadn't_ detonated in his attempt to outrun them.

' _So… The minefield's designed in such a way that those in the lead would be forced to slow their pace,'_ Shoto noted to himself as he carefully toed around the mines. There wasn't any way of knowing how-much concussive force each one had, but given Genki had been able to clear the previous record and completely "annihilate" it, it only made sense that one would need _substantial_ speed to outrun the mines.

While he _could_ make a carpet of ice and walk across it that way, that would only create a free ride for his peers to catch up to and possibly overwhelm him.

"HA! AS IF CRAP LIKE THIS CAN SLOW _ME_ DOWN!" Katsuki Bakugou raged as he flew through the air with his explosive Quirk, quickly surpassing Todoroki with minimum effort. "Hey! Your declaration of war… was to the WRONG PERSON!"

As Shoto and Katsuki began their super-powered brawl amidst the minefield, competitors from The Fall began to file in, each taking their own route around the minefield in an attempt to circumvent it. Those that were truly desperate weren't mindful-enough of their footing and were sent flying completely out of bounds, revealing that the non-lethal mines still weren't a joke. Students with sensory abilities could afford to pick up the pace a bit, but still had to be mindful, especially with how the costs of a single mistake had been shown by those knocked out-of-bounds. Tenya even attempted to match the feat of the Obstacle Course Race's own record-breaker, only for his then-current speed to be insufficient after more than two mines.

With Katsuki Bakugou and Shoto Todoroki juggling second and third place like a hot potato, a _second_ dark horse revealed itself in the form of Izuku Midoriya, who by combining a Zero-Pointer's armor plate from Robo Inferno with the abundance of mines available to him, was able to compound them together into a single massive explosion that sent him hurling across The Minefield.

"Whatever the case, Class 1-A's Izuku Midoriya is in hot pursuit of second place!"

Shoto and Bakugou falling even further away from first place, the two abandoned their super-powered grapple with one another in an attempt to overtake he whom had overtaken _them_. Izuku however, even with the knowledge that the most he could aspire to was second place, had not given up. Planting his feet firmly on their own shoulders as the last of his momentum died out, the green-haired teen swung his armored plate down onto the mines between them, knocking the two sideling while flinging himself out of the minefield and into the home stretch.

"In a stunning move, Izuku Midoriya bursts past his classmates in 1-A! Just what the heck are you teaching these kids, Eraserhead?" Present Mic announced, spurring those in The Minefield on into even _greater_ feats of daring as the single-digit ranks began to slip away.

Though most of the fanfare had died down in the five minutes following Genki Gokiburi's out-from-behind victory, Izuku was still met with a wall of applause as he burst into the light, mere-moments before Shoto and Katsuki trailed in after him in third and fourth place respectively.

As the potential remaining slots began to dwindle, those in The Minefield redoubled their efforts, would-be competitors for the next stage of the Sports Festival pouring in one after the other.

"Deku… That was awesome!" Ochako congratulated, covered in sweat and out-of-breath as she came in at 17thplace.

"To lose a race of all things with my Quirk… It's clear I still have much more progress to make…!" Tenya stated to himself, coming in at 7thplace. "And to think that someone with such phenomenal speed was hiding under our very noses," the bespectacled teen said as he beheld the record-breaking General Course student, whom was left standing awkwardly in the middle of the field all by himself. "I guess it's true what they say… There's always someone better."

"Yeah… There is…" Izuku hummed. While second place was nothing to scoff at, like so many of his peers in 1-A, he felt just a _little bit_ robbed, losing out first place to someone who wasn't even in the Hero Course to begin with. "Hmmm… The antennae and chitinous plates on his back are definitely traits of a Mutant-Type Quirk, but I'm still lacking sufficient evidence to postulate just _what_ kind of insect-like Quirk Genki is in possession of…"

As Izuku went on into another fit of muttering, one such student who felt robbed by the outcome of the first event made his opinion on the matter known in a very _vocal_ fashion.

"HEY YOU!" Bakugou shouted as he stomped violently towards the first-place winner, the oily-haired teen leaping in his skin as the explosive teen bore down on him. "JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STEALING AWAY FIRST PLACE FROM ME?!

"H-Hey, chill out, man. You're going to cause a scene," Genki said as he raised his hands and gave off a disarming smile, slowly backpedaling from the volatile teen. Of course, the suddenly movement served to only-further infuriate the explosive teen.

"STAND STILL SO I CAN KICK YOUR ASS-AAAAUGH!"

Before he could finish his threat however, Katsuki suddenly flew head over heels, letting out an _extremely_ undignified yelp as he completely lost his balance, landing on the ground in a heap, swearing up a storm as Genki continued to back away from the aggressive teen.

"K-Kacchan!" Izuku yelped in shock of what transpired, his mind whirling a mile a minute as he caught sight of a glistening residue on Bakugou's shoes, his eyes then following towards the General Course student that had been backing away. "His shoes… They have perforated soles just like Ashido's…!" the teen realized getting a better look at his footware. "Could he have [Acid] too? No, no, that wouldn't explain the speed he displayed, even _with_ a lubricant under his feet. What kind of insect has _that_ power…?"

As more and more of the leading slots for the Obstacle Course Race were taken up, it was soon made abundantly clear just how-alone Genki was. Apart from one other General Course student and one Support Course student, literally everyone else was from the Hero Course.

"Alright then! That's the last of them!" Midnight announced as Yuuga Aoyama ambled into the arena, clenching at his stomach. "The top 42 from this qualifying round will move on to the second event-"

"Comment cela pourrait-il être?" Yuuga asked, slipping into his native tongue, after realizing he was 43rd.

"But for those of you who placed lower, don't worry, we've got other events where you can show your stuff!" she said to console the losers. "But now, the main selection can _really_ begin! The press are going to be jumping out of their seats, so be sure to give it everything you've got in the second event!"

And like this, the tension began to mount once more. Out of the hundreds that attempted the Obstacle Course Race, only 42 remained. Just how-much-further would they be culled until the final event, the annual Battle Tournament?

"Dying in suspense are you? Well don't worry, I know how to be merciful~" Midnight cooed as the same roulette from before began to spin. "Following that stunning first round, the second event of the Yuuei Sports Festival is… THIS!"

 **CAVALRY**

 **BATTLE**

"Participants will, on their own, form teams of two to four members each and get into a horse-and-rider formation!" Midnight explained as visuals consisting of Thirteen, Present Mic, and All Might himself appeared on the screen behind her. "The rules are the same as those cavalry battles from middle school! Snag your opponents' headbands while guarding your own. The one exception… Each of you has been assigned a point value based on your ranking in the last event!"

"We'll earn points like in the entrance exam? Sounds simple," Rikido Sato hummed.

"So the point value of each team depends on its _members_!" Mina smiled.

"I was just about to explain that, so shut up already!" the R-Rated Hero raged at being interrupted. "As I was saying… Forty-second place has a point value of five! Forty-first has a point value of ten, fortieth has a point value of fifteen, and so-on. However…" she said pausing for dramatic effect. "For our first-place dark horse competitor, Genki Gokiburi…"

"I don't like the way she's looking at me…" the oily-haired teen shivered as Midnight's stare caused the others' eyes to gravitate towards him.

"Our record-breaker will be receiving a _special_ point value of… TEN MILLION POINTS!"

"Te… Ten… million?" Genki gulped audibly, suddenly feeling very, _very_ small as forty-one pairs of eyes descended upon him, a terrifying hunger in their eyes as the General Course student found himself swiftly ostracized, even moreso than he was before. Even his peer Hitoshi Shinso leered at him hungrily, a confident smirk on his face.

"The higher-ranked students are the ones to aim for, so this survival game is a chance for a big comeback. It's _anyone's_ game!" Midnight said as she continued to feed the fire. "Good luck, Gen-kun! You're going to need it~" the femme fatale said with a wink that might've set the teen's heart aflutter, if not for the fact he was fearing for his life.

"I'm going to die. I'm going to fucking _die_ ," Genki shivered, feeling very much like his namesake as the gauntlet was thrown.

 _ ***MHA***_

As Midnight went on to explain, the Cavalry Battle would last for 15 minutes. To a spectator, it might not be much time at all, but for those in the thick of it, it may as well've been an eternity for all the _adrenaline_ that was bound to be pumping.

The Rider would be wearing a headband displaying the sum points of their team, the main stipulation being that they had to be around the neck or higher. The more of them there were, the harder they'd be to manage, and even if one was taken, even if the horse was knocked down, until that timer hit zero, you still had a fighting chance. Midnight went on to explain that unlike the middle school sports festivals, Quirks were allowed and even _encouraged_. However, maliciously attacking another team with the _intent_ of knocking them over would result in a red card and immediate disqualification from the Cavalry Battle and subsequent Battle Tournament.

Of course, no matter whom Genki managed to ring into joining him, their point-value would still be set in the octuple digits, meaning he'd have a giant bulls-eye on his forehead -or neck- no matter _who_ he chose.

It also didn't help matters that on top of knowing _no-one_ around him, he only had fifteen minutes to convince… _anyone_ to join his team.

Of course, saying he knew _no-one_ wasn't necessarily true. He knew _Shinso_ , but like everyone else, he too had his eyes on that ten-million-point bullseye, and knowing how that guy's mind worked, he was probably going to keep the deeper mechanics of his Quirk hidden until the very last moment, possibly aiming for "dark horse" status himself.

So yeah, even though he'd managed to break the old record and make a name for himself on that _alone_ , if he didn't get the most out of those fifteen minutes before the Cavalry Battle, he could consider his second chance _over._

"Alright, Genki, _think_. What would your father say to you at a time like this…?" the almost-lone General Course student thought to himself, racking his brain as the Hero Course students began to form their own cliques, planning the oily-haired teen's demise and ruination.

 _ **" . . . "**_

"Well _that's_ no help," he thought as he imagined his father's extremely _minimal_ vocal response to such a scenario. "Okay… What would your _mother say_?" he asked himself, hoping a _maternal_ source of wisdom would yield better results.

 _ **"Remember, Gen-chan, the key to getting people's attention as a Pro Hero is sex appeal! Sex sells, so don't be afraid to show a little skin. Women have needs**_ **too** _ **you know!"**_

"Aaand like _that_ , my last hope dies…" Genki whimpered. " . . . No!" he said clapping his hands loudly on his face. "No, I've come too far to give up now! I'm all alone down here, so I'll have to think of _something_!" he told himself.

Antennae flicking atop his head, setae picking up every minute change in air pressure around him, his eyes darted around until he spotted a student in as desperate straits as he.

Unwilling to let his potential source of salvation slip away, the oily-haired teen was off in a shot, kicking up dust much to the consternation of his peers as he scooped 19th place up into his arms and whisked him away to the far corner of the field like an American football.

"AAUUUUUUGH!"

"Quit screaming!" Genki shouted at the grape-headed Hero Course student. "Name! What is it?"

"M-M-M-Minoru Mineta!" the grape-headed teen quivered in the wake of his borderline abduction.

"Team up with me!" Genki shouted, going straight for the jugular. "With your body-type and my speed, we can't _possibly_ lose!"

" . . . That's right! I'm small, so you can carry me all by yourself!" Mineta said, eyes lighting up as he realized his "character design" actually had a _pro_ to it, rather than just cons. While his preferred choice was to team up with a girl, getting a free ride to the final round was good too.

Plus, after what he did to Momo in the Obstacle Course Race, his female peers had made their opinions of him _abundantly_ known.

"While I don't completely agree with how you _literally_ piggy-backed off that one girl to make it past the first round, it's what put the idea into my head. You aren't too heavy, so I won't be bogged down all that much," Genki said holding Mineta up by the armpits. "Of course, that isn't the _only_ reason I asked you to join."

"You want me to give you the down-low on my classmates' Quirks, right?" Mineta asked as he glanced at his peers, quickly catching on.

"As many details as you can remember. I was able to hide the bulk of my Quirk during the last round, but with the way that green-headed kid's been staring at me, I think it's safe to assume my Quirk won't be secret from the Hero Course for much longer," he said as said green-haired kid glanced at him once more, a myriad of theories glinting behind intelligent green eyes.

"Yeah, the guy _does_ seem a bit obsessed," Mineta said watching Izuku get his team together.

"Hey there Mr. First Place!" a manically-enthused voice suddenly spoke up.

"AAAAUGH!" Mineta screamed in shock.

"Oh, hello, you're from the Support Course, correct?" Genki asked, feeling her approach the moment she stepped in his general direction.

"That's right! Hatsume Mei's the name, and Support Items are my game!" the girl said enthusiastically as she lugged a large white crate behind her before walking right up to him, snatching his hand and enthusiastically shaking it up and down.

' _As is not knowing the meaning of personal boundaries, apparently,'_ Genki thought as the girl got right up in his face, her nose practically brushing against his.

"I have no clue who you are, but I could _definitely_ be useful to someone in your position. _Plus_ , teaming up with you means me and my babies will be smack-dab in the spotlight! All the industry big shots will have no _choice_ but to notice my super-cute babies!"

"Babies?" Genki and Mineta asked, albeit with differing inflections.

"In the Support Course, we develop equipment to make Heroes' Quirks easier to use! I've got plenty of my babies here, and I'm sure you'll find one or two that suit you!" Mei said throwing the lid of her trunk open, before swiftly kicking it over and allowing the contents to spill out across the ground in full display of their splendor.

The fact that her stockpile of wares now-resembled the contents of a _yard sale_ however… made it a little less impressive to behold.

"Don't you think you should treat your stuff a bit more gently?" Mineta asked as he turned some of the gear over. He had no clue what most of it even _did_ , but even _he_ knew not to toss your stuff onto the ground so-callously.

"My babies are _tough_! Just like their grandpa!" Mei said chipperly as she picked up a gun-shaped implement, roughly clapping the dust off of it like she were beating an old TV. "Besides, what good's a Support Item if it can't take a _beating_?" she asked with a strange manic glee.

"That's an excellent point," Genki hummed as he began looking some of the gear over. Not _all_ heroes could be speedy like Edgeshot and dodge _everything_ thrown their way, some had to _tank_ hits, so any Support Items they wielded had to be "Tonka Tough" as the Americans put it. "Wait, is this a _jetpack_?"

"Yep! It's modeled after a certain hero's backpack. With a few additions of my _own_ , of course~" Mei said chipperly.

"Okay, we might be able to work with some of this," Genki hummed looking the gear over. "Mei, tell me what all this stuff does. Mineta, tell me everything you know about 1-A's Quirks. If we go out there without a plan this ten-million-point headband's as good as gone, so let's _brainstorm_!"

 _ ***MHA***_

 **Yet even more clues as to the nature of his Quirk have been sprinkled about, assuming some of you still have yet to figure it out. Mei Hatsume gravitated towards Izuku because he was in 1** **st** **Place, and literally no other reason, so there isn't any reason to think that would change even if** _ **who**_ **was in 1** **st** **Place did. That Mineta has joined them will** _ **definitely**_ **mix things up, so at the minimum it won't be a word-for-word repeat of what happens in the canon.**

 **I hope to hear from you Readers in the audience! If any of you make good suggestions for Support Equipment, they might even make it into the story, so don't be afraid to get those keyboard -or touchscreen—fingers typing!**

 **GO BEYOND!**

 **EXCELSIOR!**


	4. The Second Event

"Mineta… You ready for this?" Genki asked as he slipped on a replacement shirt.

"You _bet_ I am!" Mineta said as he synched the **10,000,125** headband around his head, situating himself on Genki's shoulders. "They wanna take this thing from me, they'll have to pry it off my cold dead scalp!"

"Love the enthusiasm, because it might just come down to that," Genki said trying to make light of it all. "Mei, how're your support items?"

"Green across the board, el capitan!" Mei said as her Hover Boots whirred to life, lifting her feet above the ground as she adjusted the harness linking the two teens together.

"Alright, the name of the game is run-for-your-lives. Mei, you keep your hover boots online, I'll be the engine dragging you along, so this leaves your hands free to deploy Support Items," he stated, the girl nodding her head enthusiastically. "Mineta, use your Quirk as much as physically possible and warn me of anyone trying to flank us from-range. I'll keep us on the move until the final timer."

"Can you really keep it up for that long?" Mineta asked.

"This isn't like the Obstacle Course Race where I have lots of runway to build up speed. If anything, I'll only be able to reach half my max blps before I run the risk of running us out of bounds. And that's if I _highball_ it," Genki confessed. "Even if I can't destroy military-grade robots _right now_ , if anything, I'm at least proud of my stamina."

"Oh _really_?" Mei said with a manic glint in her eyes. "I might just have a _use_ for that kind of stamina."

"Mineta, if you get an erection from this, I'm going to tuck you under my arm like a football, I swear to god," Genki said flatly.

Mineta was very upfront about his wants, so his personality was rather transparent and easy to predict.

"G-Got it…" Mineta returned. "You sure all this stuff's good to go?" he asked looking at the equipment they were all clad in.

"You bet your bottom yen it is!"

"But why do I only have this _one thing_? You two have _tons_ of gear," Mineta complained as he held a type of net-launcher that could fire up to five times before reloading.

"Mineta, you're too small to use anything _but_ that Capture Item," Genki stated as he adjusted the harness Mei had synched around his torso. Fanning upward from his shoulders were thin wing-like protrusions with six adjustable air-jets dangling from the ends. Strapped to his legs were what looked like high-tech leg braces that synched around his thighs and ankles, sleek guards on his knees. "You only have five shots and there isn't any extra ammo, so only use it as an _absolute_ last-resort," he said before looking over his shoulder at Mei.

Mei herself, in addition to the Hover Boots that had carried her through the previous event, Mei had equipped herself with some kind of foam gun filled with viscous white fluid connected to a backpack. Between the three of them, without anything to significantly reduce their weight, the jetpack wasn't really all-that-viable a tool, and Genki's speed alone made the Hover Boots a more-useful implement. Also, because she'd jury-rigged her own Arrow Launcher harness from the previous event and synched it to Genki's own, Mei was now firmly attached to her team, even when she was using her hands to operate her other Support Items.

"So… We've got a few minutes remaining. Mind going over everyone's Quirks again so we're al on the same page?" Genki asked as he looked around. Because their team had the highest point-value, they'd been situated in the dead-center of the arena, every set of eyes focused solely on them.

"Alright, let's see…" Mineta hummed as he looked around. "Over there, you see that green-haired kid who came in second right behind you? That's Midoriya Izuku. His Quirk's really similar to All Might's, but he's more like a glass cannon than a meat tank. Situated as the front of the horse is Iida Tenya; his Quirk [Engine] lets him run really fast. The back left is Uraraka Ochako, her Quirk lets her nullify gravity for whatever she touches, and the back right is Tokoyami Fumikage; his Quirk is basically like something from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure."

"I see," Genki nodded, taking note of the green-haired Midoriya, a red **690** slapped across his forehead.

"Next we have Todoroki Shoto; he can freeze things solid. Yaoyarozu Momo can synthesize any material she can think of, but she needs to expose her skin to do it. Kaminari Denki, has a Quirk that lets him electrocute everything around him."

"Todoroki Shoto… The son of the number-two Hero, Endeavor," Genki hummed regarding the white-and-red-haired teen he'd left in the dust twiceover, a **415** plastered across his forehead. "Hrmm… His team looks a little _bare_."

"Well, the guy can be a bit of a prude, so it's to be expected. Plus, he probably really sucks at asking people for help," Mineta shrugged before getting back to the topic at hand. "Over there we have Bakugou Katsuki, the guy who made everyone pissed at him at the beginning."

"Yeah, I remember that guy. Can anyone say 'anger management issues'? What about 'ego'?"

"Katsuki's Quirk basically lets him fire off explosions from his hands. The spiky-haired guy in front, Eijirou Kirishima, can turn himself rock-hard. The girl on the left, Ashido Mina, can produce adis, and the guy on the right, Sero Hanta, can fire tape from his elbows."

"I wonder what he does about shirts," Genki hummed as the teen with the **645** on his forehead glowered at him.

"Over there we have Asui Tsuyu and Shoji Mezo. Asui can basically do anything a frog can do, and Shoji is a muscly octopus that can grow eyes, ears, mouths, and noses on the ends of his arms."

"Oh, the cute Mutant-type girl," Genki hummed as he beheld the girl's **285** headband. "Um… Are those guys over there _missing_ someone?" he said turning to another 1-A team, seemingly absent a Rider.

"Oh… That must be Hagakure Toru's team," Mineta drooled as he beheld the topless invisible girl. "Hagakure has the power to be invisible 24/7/365, Rikido Sato gets roid rage whenever he eats sugar, Jiro Kyoka has the ability to project soundwaves through her extending earlobes, and Koda Koji has the ability to talk to animals."

"I hope he doesn't sic any birds on us. _Not_ a big fan," the teen grumbled.

"Oh, and over there with that purple-haired kid is Mashirao Ojiro. His Quirk gives him a really muscly tail. For some reason, he looks _really_ out-of-it," Mineta hummed as he looked at his remaining peer, the blond-haired teen vacantly staring in front of himself as he and a 1-B student supported the only other General Course student.

"Whatever you two do, don't talk to the guy with purple hair. In fact, let's stay far away from him," Genki hummed as he glanced Shinso's way before focusing back on the teams nearest him.

"Why so defensive?" Mei asked.

"Let's just say he can really get into your head, and leave it at that."

"Agh! Time's up!" Mineta cried as their fifteen-minute countdown timer finally reached zero.

"Your fifteen minutes are up. Time to get started!" Midnight said doing some arm stretches.

"That's right folks! Our thirteen teams have been assembled, they're lined up, and ready to move!" Present Mic announced.

"Interesting… the teams they've come up with," Aizawa grumbled, still half-asleep.

"Here it comes! The starting signal! Blood begets blood in this pulse-pounding match!" Present Mic screamed as everyone synched their headbands around their head, Team Gokiburi's **10,000,125** the apple of everyone's eye. "Three…! Two…! One…! START!"

"Minoru! Hatsume! LET'S DO THIS!" Genki roared as the match began in earnest and countless aspirant heroes bore down on them.

"This is really a fight for the ten-million, and everyone knows it!" Tetsutetsu cried, running **685** points strong.

"Hah hah hah hah! We're coming for you, 'Gen-kun'!" Toru cackled giddily, her male teammates unsure where to look.

"BASTARRRRRRD!" Bakugou raged.

"I don't care if you're in the General Course! We're coming at you with everything we have!" Izuku shouted out.

"You won't get away from us!" Iida shouted as he, Ochako, Fumikage, and Izuku bore down on Genki's team faster than anyone.

"Big mistake!" Genki shouted as Mei's Hover Boots whirred to life and oil poured out of his perforated soles. " **Goki Thruster**!" he roared as a hiss-like roar exploded from his palms, propelling his team sidelong at the last moment while Iida's feet hit the oil slick with a loud _***Squelch***_

"Oh no!" Ochako cried as their team's momentum turned on them, the group swiftly screaming towards the out-of-bounds line at the edge of the field no matter what they did.

"Uraraka! Make us all lighter!" Izuku called out.

"Wh-What?"

"I have a plan! Trust me!"

"H-Hai!" the brunette replied as she tapped every member of her team and herself for last, staving off the nausea as-best she could.

"Everyone, hold on!" Izuku called out as their feet left the ground, the out-of-bounds line passing underneath them with scarcely a moment to spare. _'Don't let the egg break… Don't let the egg break… DON'T LET THE EGG BREAK!'_ Izuku chanted to himself as they neared the edge of the arena. His arm becoming alight with [One for All], he swung it out launching a gale of wind into the audience in front of him, sending him and his team back into bounds.

As his team staggered to regain their footing, Team Gokiburi was already well away from them.

 _ ***MHA***_

"Mei! Your babies are amazing!" Genki awed as he ran, the leg gear following his movements with absolutely zero lag, making him feel lighter than air.

"If you think my Custom Leg Parts are amazing, wait 'til you see my Auto-Balancer!" Mei beamed happily.

"GET BACK HERE YOU BUG BASTAAAAAARD!" Bakugou raged as spurred his team toward the ten-million-plus-point headband.

"CHAAAARGE!" Kirishima roared as he used his [Hardening].

"INCOMIIIIING!" Mineta cried as Bakugou's murderous glare bore into them.

"Hey, Red!" Genki shouted as he whirled on the coming opponents, the Auto-Balancer on his back making that motion _too_ nearly effortless. "Come at me, bro!" he said waving his hands around like a mantis.

"You asked for it!" Kirishima cried out moments before Genki threw his right leg up, a wave of oil spilling out of the sole of his shoe and spattering all over him and Bakugou, the feet of his team slipping every which way as their traction was reduced to near-zero.

"You paid attention to the hands when you should've been watching the _foot_ ," Genki taunted. "Mineta! We're leaving!" he said as he whirled around, the Custom Leg Parts and Auto-Balancing making the 180-turn almost _instantaneous_.

"Eat it, you dick!" Mineta cried as he ripped off a dozen of his protrusions and scattered them around Team Bakugou's feet, barring their march forward much to Bakugou's consternation.

"Mother FUCKER!"

"Language!"

 _ ***MHA***_

"Okay! What now?" Mineta asked as they left Team Bakugou in the dust, the hairs on Genki's body rising as the air around them changed.

"Incoming! From three sides!" Genki called out as Ibara Shiozaki, Kyoka Jiro, and Tsuyu Asui closed in on them from all sides with their ranged attacks.

"AAAAUGH!" Mineta cried as he clamped his hands around the ten-million-point crown like his life depended on it.

Genki whirling to his right, without even looking his hands snaked out grabbing Kyoka's [Earphone Jack] and Tsuyu's tongue, Ibara's [Vines] descending on the grand prize the moment his hands became occupied. Before the thorny protrusions could reach it however, Genki leapt upwards, his jaws clamping shut around the vines as he jerked his head back, drawing them taut as he bit down into them.

"How? He shouldn't have seen me coming!" Kyoka growled as her ears were tugged, a similar sentiment crossing Tsuyu's mind as her oral muscle remained firmly in the oily-haired teen's grasp.

Before they could ruminate on this _more_ however, the color suddenly drained from Ibara's face, the girl letting out a blood-curdling- "EYAAAAAGH!" –that practically made her team jump out of their skin.

"Ibara! What's wrong?" Tetsutetsu cried, panic setting in as the normally-composed girl completely lost her shit.

"Make it stop…! MAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOOOOP!" Ibara cried as broke formation and threw herself to the ground, nearly taking Tetsutetsu with her as she began rolling in the dirt, frantically clutching at her scalp as she wailed. After several shriek-filled seconds, Tetsutetsu _barely_ escaping a disqualification, the vine-haired girl suddenly grasped the roots of the vines that Genki held between clenched teeth, before ripping them out much to the shock of her team and spectators alike.

"Bastard! What the hell did you _do_ to her?!" Yosetsu Awase raged as the oily-haired teen spat out the now-inert vines.

"Winning this event, _that's_ what!" he said before he turned his attention to the 1-A students at range, scrunching his brow in concentration causing his most-potent oil to spill from the pores in his palms and onto the appendages in his clutches.

"Gck!"

"Tsu! What's wrong?" Shoji asked as Tsuyu suddenly trembled.

"Don't… know… Tongue… going numb…" Tsuyu gurgled as she strained to pull her tongue free. The appendage leaving the teen's oily hand, a meter of pink oral muscle hung limply from the girl's lips once it had been reeled back in.

"Eek!"

"Kyoka! What's wrong?" Toru asked as the rocker girl's body suddenly went rigid.

"S-s-s-s-s-sooooo g-g-g-g-g-g-g-groooooossss…!" Kyoka stammered with a reddening face as her knees buckled, nearly taking her team along with her _too_ as Genki waggled his fingers. Looking around and seeing that the other teams had momentarily halted their assault, likely in response to Ibara's sudden panic attack, the oily-haired teen let Kyoka's earlobes go, her teammates steadying her before she could collapse onto her face.

"Holy crap… What the hell did you _do_ to them?" Mineta asked dumbstruck, a little bit of drool leaving his lips as the three girls were left in varying states of distress.

"No time! We need to move!" Genki ordered as they retreated to a sparse area of the field, Mei giggling madly as she launched fat globules of riot foam around the feet of the stunned teams.

For the next few minutes, Team Gokiburi was able to remain out-of-reach of their contemporaries. The first team to step onto Mei's harmless-looking riot foam learned the hard way that, while nowhere near as sticky as Mineta's [Pop Off], its adhesive power was _quite_ significant since said stepper almost lost a shoe. With Mei's Custom Leg Parts and Auto-Balancer equipped to the most-agile person in the Cavalry Battle, no-one could even come _close_ enough for Mineta to worry about using his Net Launcher, the ten-million-point crown remaining tantalizingly out of reach.

"OH CRAP! IT'S TODOROKIIIII!" Mineta cried as the two-toned teen made his way towards them, a long iron pole in his hands as his right half slowly frosted over. "Quick! Do something before he freezes us all!" he cried as Todoroki made to stab the rod into the ground.

" **Goki Oil Flow: FULL BLAST**!" Genki called out as he squared his feet and thrust out his arms, a small wave of oil flooding out of his feet and his palms onto the ground around them moments before the ice neared them. To everyone's shock except Genki's own, Todoroki's Ice Age-esque attack was actually _parted_ by the puddle of oil Team Gokiburi was situated above.

"What the heck?!" was the sum thought of Class 1-A as they witnessed this.

"Whoa! Didn't see _that_ coming!" Present Mic gawked.

 _'That oil_ _… If it's analogous to_ sweat _, the impurities might be what stopped it from freezing over,'_ Izuku thought watching from a distance. He'd seen Mineta's Quirk first-hand as well, so it was too-dangerous to carelessly approach the ten-million-point crown.

"Mineta! Cover our retreat!" Genki said as Mei pushed into his back, her Hover Boots pushing them over the ice.

"You got it! EAT MY STICKY BAAAAAALLS!" Mineta cried as he began ripping the grape-like protrusions from his scalp and scattering them like caltrops behind them, effectively halting Team Todoroki's advance. "Thank god that's over," the diminutive teen sighed as he wiped his brown, a bit of blood dribbling down his temple.

"Don't relax just-yet. We've got four more teams moving in on us," Mei pointed out as her [Zoom] caught their course shift.

"Oh COME ON!" Mineta cried as the teams led by Kendo Itsuka, Kodai Yui, Hiryu Rin, and Togaru Kamakiri lunged at them, a fair amount of ire in their eyes for what Genki had done to Ibara.

"Mei! You ready to do the thing!"

"You bet your buns I am!" Mei said with a grin and a thumbs-up.

"Alright… LET'S GO!" Genki said diving headlong into the quartet of teams closing in on them in a phalanx. As Genki rushed forward, Mei actually flew _back_ , her equipment from the previous exam doing _more_ than keeping her attached to Genki by a hardline. Genki clearing half the distance between them, he snagged the lines behind himself and drew them forward, Mei accelerating at an arc at an incredible speed and closing the distance much to their shock.

"SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE BABIES!" Mei squealed giddily as she flew sidelong towards the four teams like the business end of a hammer throw, the girl firing a thick heavy stream of riot foam from her gun at near-point-blank range and locking up the four teams' feet. Shishida Jurota and Tsunotori Pony unfortunately-enough were left pinned to the ground on all fours, and as the foam expanded to several times its original size when exposed to the open air, the two quadrupeds were almost _smother_ _ed_ in it.

"Rgh! Don't let him get away!" Itsuka growled. "Hit him with everything you've got! For _Ibara_!"

Their mobility effectively nullified, the 1-B teams retaliated with their _ranged_ attacks instead.

Tokage Setsuna using her [Self-Amputation] Quirk fired out her arms reminiscent of a certain round-nosed pirate. Bondo Kojiro released a thick viscous [Cemedine] from the holes in his head in a flying wave. Fukidashi Manga used his [Comic] ability to materialize the onomatopoeia for the word **"OBJECTION!"** in large stylized Japanese characters. Rin Hiryu fired his [Scales] like an SMG. Tsunotori Poni launched the horns from her head with cannon-like force, a new set regenerating almost instantly.

"Mei! Arrows!" Genki said pointing at the ground, Mei's practiced hands disconnecting them in an instant before re-directing her arrows into the ground. "Now! Cover your ears!" he said thrusting his right arm out, grabbing his wrist. **"Gokiii..."** he intoned as he began burning through energy like a furnace, wisps of steam rising from the corners of his mouth. **"Oil..."** he intoned as countless veins began to angrily throb against his skin, his muscles beginning to swell as pressure built. **"CANNOOOOOON!"**

At the last possible moment, mere moments before the "bullet wall" of projectiles from the 1-B teams could hit them, the pores in his hand suddenly opened up unleashing a loud _***BOOM!***_ as compressed gas laced with secreted chemicals under high pressure shot forward. The resulting recoil throwing him backwards like the force of a bomb, as Auto-Balancer, Custom Leg Parts, and Wire Arrows alike whined and screamed in protest, Mei wrapped her arms around her meal ticket's torso, heedless of her plentiful bosom pressing into his muscular back. The chemical-saturated blast meeting 1-B's attacks partway, there was clearly no contest as the oil caused the wall of glue-like [Cemedine] to scatter into fat globules, the compressed air component of the attack causing everything to fly backwards, the 1-B teens screaming as they were spattered with a combination of all their own Quirks.

"HOLY CRAP!" Mineta screamed. While it wasn't even _close_ to the time Bakugou pulled the pin on his grenade-shaped Support Items, the force behind that attack was _still_ quite substantial.

"Hey, are you okay?" Mei asked peeking over his shoulder, making no real effort to pull her breasts away from his back as she beheld his arm falling limply to his side, hand convulsing as skin and muscle began to bruise.

" _I'm fine. Can't let them know how-much that took out of me,"_ Genki said hiding the throbbing of his right arm with a confident toothy smile, the teen rubbing his thumb across his nose as he beheld the havoc he'd sown.

"So, we managed to fend most-everyone off. What now?" Mei asked as Genki drew them away from the carnage, those of a more _pragmatic_ nature taking advantage of the chaos to further their own ends by attacking the defenseless 1-B students, mindful of getting trapped in the mountains of [Cemedine].

"We waste enough of their time to make them realize pursuing us isn't cost-effective," Genki answered.

 _ ***MHA***_

True to his word, with everything Team Gokiburi had going for it, the general consensus was soon spread that it _was in fact_ , not cost-effective to pursue them. The more time they spent chasing the Golden Snitch, the less the teams of lower point-values had to secure their own place in the next block.

Especially since those caught in Mei's expanding riot foam were _still_ trapped, in addition to being spattered with [Cemedine].

With Genki's headband less and less of a target as the Support Items on his legs gave him incredible acceleration he wouldn't be able to achieve purely on his own, the Hero Course students pursued one another instead. Most-notably was Katsuki Bakugou pursuing Izuku Midoriya, coming up with the inventive strategy of _jumping off_ his own horse before being drawn back in with his teammate's [Tape].

Of course, the _real_ upset came when Neito Monoma snatched away several of 1-A's headbands all under their noses. This earned him the ire of Team Bakugou alone, while Team Todoroki attempted to corner Team Midoriya. However, what Todoroki wouldn't realize was that, with a new common enemy in Gokiburi Genki, Iida teaming up with Izuku would in fact deprive _him_ of a significant speed advantage, leaving them at a stalemate as the frizzy-haired teen collected some of the leftovers Genki had left behind on his own rampage.

Genki of course hid the throbbing pain of his arm from the use of his clutch move extremely well, and after what felt like an eternity, the Cavalry Battle finally came to an end.

"TIME'S UUUUUUP!" Present Mic screeched, causing Bakugou to fall flat on his face mid-lunge toward Izuku's scrawny neck. "Let's see who the top teams are right now!" he said as various teams bereft of points wailed in agony. "In first place with a guaranteed slot for the final event for holding onto the ten-million-point crown, Team Gokiburi!"

 **Team Gokiburi  
10,000,125**

"My thighs are chaffing…" Genki panted, his exhaustion hitting him once the adrenaline died down.

"In second place… Team Bakugou!"

 **Team Bakugou  
1,295**

"GAHHHH!" Bakugou raged once more.

"In third place… Team Shinso?!" Present Mic gawped, sounding quite surprised by the _second_ sudden upset.

 **Team Shinso  
1,170**

"Thanks for your help," the purple haired teen said as Ojiro and Nirengeki regained consciousness.

"In fourth place… Team Todoroki!"

 **Team Todoroki  
910**

"Damn…" the [Subzero]-wielder bit out angrily, now that _two_ General Course students stood above him.

"And in fifth place… Team Midoriya!"

 **Team Midoriya  
805**

"That was too close…" Izuku said bursting with tears, all other teams after him zeroed out after the rampage caused by the second event's first place team.

"What a turnabout! Those headbands went every-which-way!" Present Mic squealed excitedly.

"Quite," Aizawa hummed.

"And with that, these five teams will now proceed to the final event!"

 _ ***MHA***_

 **AN:  
It took a bit of doing, but I was able to rework the teams around given both Mei and Mineta changed teams. I also took into consideration that, since Izuku AND Iida were similarly competing for First Place, there wouldn't be a reason for the prior to ostracize the prior, hence I wrote them working together due to their familiarity with one another and "shared enemy".**

 **Since Genki took 1** **st** **Place in the Obstacle Race, everyone else lost 5 Points, hence why Yuuga, valued at 5 Points at 42** **nd** **Place in the canon, was booted from the game completely with one more person above him. Izuku, Todoroki, and Bakugou were the highest in Canon, but bumping them down to 205, 200, and 195 Points respectively changes the paradigm substantially.**

 **As for all the** _ **other**_ **point values, Shinso was extremely subtle as he acquired what he himself was able to, and Genki and Mei's combined rampage towards the end of** _ **their**_ **action sequence left plenty of teams in a vulnerable state to have their points taken.**

 **Also, the reason I incorporated 5 Teams instead of 4, other than allowing me to include the "milestone" battles that would define several people's characters, was because since Genki's team** _ **retained**_ **the 10,000,000+ point headband, they were guaranteed an "in", and all the other teams had zeroed out.**

 **Anyway, please give me your thoughts, comments, and criticisms. Until next time…**

 **GO BEYOND!**

 **EXCELSIOR!**


	5. The Second Event's Aftermath

**In the Reviews section, one of you asked what "blps" is.**

 **"Blps" means "Body Lengths Per Second", the measuring system that Gokiburi Genki uses as a measuring system for his speed/per second.**

 _ ***MHA***_

"Alright, folks! We'll proceed to the afternoon portion of the Sports Festival after a one-hour lunch break! See you then!" Present Mic announced, countless Heroes and civilians alike beginning to leave some seats. "Hey. Eraserhead. Wanna grab some food?" he said moments before the mic cut out.

"What the hell happened to us? How'd we end up with zero points…?" Tetsutetsu wailed in shock.

"It… Must've been in the chaos left in Gokiburi's wake…" Ibara spoke up, shuddering as she nursed the bald spot on the right side of her head. "We were so-focused on his headband we must've gotten tunnel vision."

"Ibara, are you going to be okay?" Itsuka asked worriedly.

"Yes… I'll be fine… I just need a little water and sunlight…" the modest girl sighed. "I let the fact that he was from the General Course make me arrogant, so maybe this is divine punishment…?"

"But what happened back there?" Setsuna asked. "You sounded like you were in so much pain."

"I don't know… It's like… When he wrapped his teeth around my vines, it felt like I was being melted alive," Ibara said casting a scared glance towards the oily-haired teen off to the side.

"To think someone like that was hidden away in the General Course…" Monoma moaned, lamenting his own failings in the previous event. "Part of me is _ecstatic_ watching him pull the rug out from under 1-A so many times and making utter _fools_ of them, but when it happens to _our_ class… I have mixed feelings."

Elsewhere, 1-A exchanged their own thoughts on the previous event.

"This sucks, but congrats all the same, Mina," Tsuyu hummed, fuming that her own headband had been taken without her knowledge.

"Bakugou only picked me because I could melt Todoroki's ice. This win didn't really say anything about my strength," Mina said with a very "Meh…" attitude.

"Man, what happened at the beginning was _way_ too close…" Ochako sighed, recalling the first minute of the Cavalry Battle where they almost flung themselves into the spectators' stand.

"My apologies. I was not aware-enough of our adversaries' abilities to anticipate the use of an _oil slick_ of all things," Iida apologized. Such a tactic had almost cost his brother his life early on in his career, so he should've had the presence of mind t avoid such a trick.

"N-No, it's _my_ fault. I saw him trip Kacchan right before we started gathering teams together, and I was so fixated on trying to ascertain the nature of his Quirk, I neglected to mention it until we'd already fallen into his trap," Midoriya apologized.

"Clever is the falcon that hides its claws…" Tokoyami said cryptically as he cast a glance toward the two-time first-place winner.

And it was true. No-one in the Hero Course so much as _knew_ about someone like Genki, or Shinso for that matter, yet these two General Course students continued to succeed where others failed, one remaining under the radar while the other was smack dab in the middle like a neon light.

"That fucking _bug_!" Bakugou raged. He couldn't tell what was worse. Having someone from the General Course beat him, _again_ , or having _Mineta_ of all people beat him; either directly or indirectly not mattering.

"Ugh… I've still got this crap in my hair…" Kirishima grumbled.

"In the next round, I'll fucking _kill him_!" the explosive teen raged.

As the students of Class 1-A and 1-B lamented their losses, Shoto looked Izuku dead in the eye, the two's gaze held for several moments before he jerked his thumb behind himself, prompting the green-haired teen to follow.

 _ ***MHA***_

"We're alive… We're really alive…" Mineta whimpered as his grip finally slackened, and he fell to the ground in a tired heap.

"The heck are _you_ tired for? _I_ did all the running," Genki rebutted.

"Hey, half the time I couldn't hold on any longer, but I was too scared to let go! Cut me some slack, alright?"

"Moving on… Mei! I don't know if I've said this enough, but these Support Items you made are a- _Mei_ -zing!" he complimented, Mineta groaning at the pun while the inventor happily beamed at the praise. "If I make into the Hero Course, you have _got_ to help me upgrade my costume!"

"As long as you tell everyone the gear is a Hatsume Mei Original, I'll consider it," she said helping him out of her gear. "And besides… Having someone so-interested in my tech means I'll always have someone willing to field-test my _babies~_ " she giggled, giving her own boots and foam gun an appreciative pat, ideas ruminating in her head to turn her riot foam sprayer into some kind of… "Mochi Gun" after seeing Mineta's Quirk in action. "Thanks for the help, Mr. First Place! A pleasure doing business with ya!" the Support Course girl said giddily as she walked away, humming a merry tune as she went.

"Hey man, in case I forget to say it later… Thanks. For getting me through all that," Mineta sighed.

"Hey, I should be thanking _you_. If you hadn't agreed to partner up on me and give me the down-low on your class' Quirks, I would've been up shit creek without a paddle. Knowing's half the battle."

"Still, we were lucky that crazy chick decided to team up with us and loan out all that cool stuff," Mineta said giving the pink-haired girl a look before remembering "the one rule".

Don't stick your dick in crazy.

"So… Wanna go grab some lunch? No homo."

"Sure… You buyi-"

"Hey, what'd you stop for?" Mineta asked as his teammate froze mid-sentence, his antennae shooting straight up as his eyes began to dart around nervously.

"MY BABY BOOOOYYYY!" a womanly voice cried happily from one of the tunnel entrances, all eyes on the ground on them as Genki was suddenly scooped up and swung around like a ragdoll.

"O-Okaa-san?! When'd _you_ get here?" Genki gawped.

" _That's_ your mom?!" Mineta gawped, the eyes of several of his peers looking on in curiosity as Genki was peppered with kisses by the sudden arrival.

Genki's mother looked very much like _him_ , and it was obvious where he got his looks from at a glance; albeit, _her_ genes were obviously diluted, since Genki's mother was markedly more-feminine than her son, and had yellow eyes instead of brown. Her shoulder-length hair which was colored blond, had only a _slight_ oily sheen to it, styled up in twin ponytails with foot-long antennae similar to her son's own sticking out atop her head. Her attire consisted of a black pantsuit and red tie, largely conservative aside from the small swell of her bust and hips.

Though she could be mistaken for a schoolgirl from her youthful appearance, being an inch or two shorter than her son with flawless skin and youthful demeanor, she was actually in her early forties.

"Ohhh! I'm so _proud_ of youuuuu!" the woman cooed as she hugged her son, swinging him around like he were weightless. A lance of pain shooting up his arm and causing him to wince, the woman immediately stopped, setting him on his feet and giving him a once-over. " . . . You really _pushed_ yourself to get this far, didn't you?" she asked, a look mixed between worry and pride on her face.

"I had to, mom. Plus Ultra-style, as-cheesy as that sounds to say out loud," Genki admitted.

"Well… At least you take more after your father under the hood," the woman admitted drumming her knuckles on his chest. "Mineta-kun, right?"

"Y-Yes ma'am!" Mineta answered as the woman turned to him.

"Could you take my son over to Recovery Girl? I'll get a nice meal for the two of you by the time you get there. _Three_ if I can find that nice girl from the Support Course," she hummed thoughtfully as she walked off.

"So… That's your _mom_ , huh?" Mineta hummed.

"If you say she's a MILF, no-one will _ever_ find the body," Genki growled lowly, an angry hiss rising out of clenched teeth.

"N-Not even _remotely_ what I was going to say! I like my women tall, busty, and _curvy_!"

"You _pig_!"

"I can't believe you just said that!"

"Get kicked by a horse and _die_!" several of the nearby girls chided.

"I regret nothing!" Mineta proclaimed.

' _What the hell have I done…?'_ Genki wondered, realizing just _who_ he'd taken with him to the Battle Tournament stage of the Sports Festival.

He could only hope his _other_ partner would show a little more restraint.

 _ ***MHA***_

As it turned out, Shuzenji Chiyo, aka Recover Girl, had been quite busy after the Obstacle Course Race had been concluded.

In addition to the dozens of cases of first and even second-degree frostbite caused by Todoroki at the very beginning, multiple students had also been injured attempting to surmount the Robo Inferno. While The Fall _did_ have adequate padding _and_ safety nets, there were still a few injuries from those who fell partway though, but at least no-one died. As for The Minefield, there had been a _bit_ of hearing damage in addition to the bruising and spraining for those that had triggered the mines, and of course… the embarrassing requirement of fresh pants when blue change to brown and maybe even yellow.

It was of course, as the last of the students from the Obstacle Course Race had received their treatment, that the most-injured from the Cavalry Battle needing care arrived in her office, a storage room down one of the maintenance corridors labeled **Recovery Girl's Temporary Nurse's Office**.

"No rest for the wicked, I suppose," the woman hummed as she beheld the General Course-student in front of her, blinking her eyes as she saw her face. "Gen-chan? Is that _you_?" she asked adjusting her visor. "You've gotten so _big_ since I last saw you."

"Wait, you _know_ her?" Mineta asked.

"A while back I was in an… _accident_ … and Recovery Girl saved me from spending a year in a full-body cast," Genki said nervously.

"What? Did you really do that badly in the Entrance Exam?" Mineta asked.

"No, that was for something different, but patient confidentiality means I'm not at liberty to say anymore," Recovery Girl replied. "So… What seems to be ailin' ya?" she asked getting straight to business since he was on a time crunch.

"I… kinda elevated my body temperature so I could eject oil and hot air under high pressure, so my arm's a bit sore," Genki said rolling up his sleeve.

"Hmmm… I see…" the woman hummed as her visor scanned the appendage, evaluating his condition. "Well, if you'll just fill out this form and take a seat, we'll get you squared away in time for your next hurdle."

"You _know_ about that?" Genki asked as he sat on the nearby bed.

"Of course, dearie. Do you think I'd really let something like the Sports Festival happen without knowing what's going on?" she asked gesturing to an old TV in the back of the room.

"I suppose not…" he said taking the clipboard. Grabbing the attached pen, his arm winced, the teen handily changing the pen over to his left hand and getting to work.

"Ambidextrous, are you? That's a rare trait, even _with_ eighty percent of the populous having Quirks," Recovery Girl hummed as the oily-haired teen crossed the ts and dotted the is.

"Well, you know… Having ganglion all over my body comes with its advantages," Genki admitted, filling out the last of the form.

"That _is_ true," Recovery Girl admitted. "You know… Even if your father's been retired for a while, I'm sure he still has enough pull around here he could've gotten you into the Hero Course on _recommendation_ ," she stated, causing Mineta to sputter since the only people he knew of that got in on recommendation were from elite families.

"Maybe… But part of me had this stupid macho thing going where I wanted to get into Yuuei on my _own_ merits. That if I couldn't get in on my own, I didn't really _deserve_ to be here…" Genki admitted as he rubbed the back of his head. "Also… I…" he paused, his face drooping. "I didn't want my father to possibly find out he'd been a 'has-been' for too-long _to_ get me into Yuuei just on his word alone."

" . . . "

 _ ***Thwack***_

"ITAIII!" Genki cried as the woman struck him with her cane.

"Try to give us non-Mutants a little more credit than _that_ ," Recover girl scolded. "We _do_ know how to express gratitude, even to those that wouldn't pass for 'human' in the pre-Paranormality age."

"I'm sorry… You're right…" Genki admitted. "I just… I didn't want everyone to think I only got in because of institutionalized nepotism or something like that."

"Hoh? I didn't think you young'ns _cared_ for six-syllable words like that."

"Yes, well… If the Hero thing doesn't work out for me, I can still go into the new family business if things don't pan out," Genki admitted.

"Don't sell yourself so short just yet. You've done a heckuva good job making it so far. Most years it's _only_ Hero and Support Course students that make it past the first round, so it's actually quite refreshing to see the General Course get some representation," Recovery Girl said with a smile. "Of course, you can't go out there roughed-up like _that_ , now can you?"

Extending her lips and pressing them to the oily-haired teen's forehead with a _*Chuuuuu*_ , Genki's right arm emitted a green, almost-magical glow as the bruising and swollen veins began to disappear, leaving only unmarred skin in their wake.

"Whoo… Got a little dizzy all of a sudden," Genki said swaggering. "Don't remember _that_ happening last time."

"Well, you were practically _dead_ to the world and on an IV drip the entire time. It's understandable you don't really remember," Recovery Girl hummed. "Here, take some candy. It'll give you energy," she said pointing to a jar on the counter.

"Arigatou," Genki bowed, taking a handful of candy and popping the sugary treats into his mouth, feeling his energy slowly return as he broke them up between his teeth and swallowing the remains.

"Well, if there isn't anything else you need here, make sure you get a nice filling meal before you do anything else. Wouldn't want you eating away at yourself, now would we?"

"No, ma'am. Thank you for everything," he said bowing slightly.

"It's my pleasure. Run along now, your adoring public awaits."

"Yeah… For as long as they don't know what my Quirk is," Genki said sadly.

"Give your _peers_ a little more credit than that, too. This isn't middle school anymore. Your future classmates _are_ a bit more-mature than that."

"You say that like I'm a shoo-in to get in."

"Call it a woman's intuition," Recovery Girl said with a smile. "Run along now, or you'll miss your cue."

"A-Arigatou gozaimasu!" Genki bowed again as he rushed out of the room, tucking Mineta under his arm as he went.

"So… What the heck _happened_ to you that you would've been in a full-body cast for a year without Recovery Girl?" Mineta found himself asking.

"I don't like to talk about it."

"Fair enough."

 _ ***MHA***_

Leaving the tunnels and stepping out into the festival grounds surrounding the arena, meeting back up with his mother who'd _somehow_ managed to track down Mei, the mother, son, and his teammates all went out towards the food stalls, the scents of cookers and fryers filling the air.

After a few moments, to Genki's surprise, passerby actually started _smiling_ at him. Congratulating him on his victories, patting him on the back, giving him their well-wishes and even stepping out of the way for him, this kind of adulation was something completely _foreign_ to the bug-like teen, since everyone tended to shy away from him once they learned _what_ his Quirk was and the negative connotations that came with it.

"Heeheehee! Looks like you've got some fans," Genki's mother, introduced as Gokiburi Oki, giggled with a wide smile on her face.

"Maybe… But for how long?" he asked before his mother tugged on his cheek. "Itai-itai-itai!"

"Don't sell yourself short," his mother chided as she pat his cheek. "You've got the best of both worlds; the strength of your otou-san, and the eye-catching looks of your okaa-san," she said with a beaming smile. "You'll make a _great_ hero, so don't give up before its even begun."

"I guess you're right," Genki admitted.

"So… your dad used to be a Pro Hero, then?" Mineta asked.

"Yeah. There was an… incident, a while back, and he retired shortly after," Genki answered, his expression souring for a moment. "Thankfully, he made some connections during his live-action movie debut from early on in his Hero career, so he was able to find a good job after that."

"Oh? What movie?" Mei asked.

"The live-action Terraformars remake from a while back," Oki said with a smile. "Your father was _so_ dashing on the big screen," she sighed wistfully.

"Well he _had_ to be. They copy and pasted him all- _over_ the place. It was kinda _creepy_ actually."

"Not the point," Oki chided. "So…" she said turning to his teammates. "What're you in the mood for? If you're hitting the Battle Tournament next, you're going to need your _energy_!"

"Well, if you're paying, I guess I'll take some teriyaki chicken," Mineta answered.

"A heaping helping of yaki soba for _me_ , please!" Mei said excitedly. "But what'll _you_ eat?"

"Heaping helpings of _everything_!" the woman said with a smile as she held up an impressive stack of bento boxes. "You're free to have some if you want."

"It's kinda weird I didn't notice that until just now," Mineta hummed.

"Yeah, I don't know how she does that either," Genki added. "The most I ever got out of her is 'mom power'."

"And that's all you _will_ get out of me," Oki said with a grin.

 _ ***MHA***_

As it turned out, winning the first two events of the Sports Festival despite being an underdog, or rather, _because_ he was an underdog, came with some nice fringe benefits.

Not only did the vendors they visited give them extra-big helpings for no additional charge, but the stands they didn't even _plan_ on going to gave them lots of free samples. Even if it was only for the social media exposure, it was still a touching gesture, and after all the running he'd done and all the oil he'd secreted, the teen was more-hungry than he'd realized.

Plus, it'd just be _rude_ to turn away free food.

While Mei ate happily from both the festival food and bento boxes Genki's mother had brought with her, Mineta and those nearby could only gape in shock as Genki and his mother alike wolfed down many, _many_ servings of food, not even the barest hint of distention in sight as piles of food disappeared into their gullets. Even those with larger body-types couldn't help but gawk as the two Gokiburi put away plate after plate of food.

Even Classes 1-A and 1-B had their momentary animosity for being unable to get the 10,000,000+ point crown abate as they beheld the sight of the two bug-like people eating with various expressions on their face. Some didn't care, some looked on with awe, some found themselves losing their appetite, and others… well, _one_ other, scribbled furiously in his notebook like he were attempting to solve a riveting game of Clue.

Only, instead of trying to figure out who killed whom with what and where, it was what _kind_ of Mutant-Type Quirk the two had, and what facets of it came from the mother, which came from the father, and which were spontaneous mutations exclusive to their offspring. Food preferences were just another clue he was trying to use to extrapolate the information he sought since one's Quirk _did_ tend to influence their diet.

Eventually however, the hour-long lull came to an end, and the Yuuei Sports Festival's final event began in earnest.

 _ ***MHA***_

 **AN:  
For those of you that've read ****Arachnid** **or even** **Caterpillar** **, the inspiration for Genki's mother (bordering on "Cameo") should be fairly obvious. And if you haven't read them, I highly recommend it, because the battles and real-world science are all quite riveting, and inspired not only _this_ OC, but the OC in my ****RWBY** **fanfic,** **Giant-Slayer** **.**

 **As for whom Genki's** _ **father**_ **is, I've left clues scattered about as well.**

 **Hero work isn't the** _ **only**_ **lucrative business involving Quirks. Obviously the** _ **cinematic**_ **endeavor would benefit from Quirks as well, since money normally spent on costly special effects can instead be used to heighten the quality of a movie as long as those adept with suitable Quirks can be found; in a weird way I imagine the trend of Practical Effects like in the original Star Wars trilogy would come back into play, allowing Quirks to become _popularized_ , at least outside the age of _Corporate_ Heroes.**

 **It's obvious that Quirks wouldn't** _ **only**_ **be used to help people or break the law, with such powerful tools at their disposal, humans in the post-Paranormality world would find all** _ **sorts**_ **of avenues with which to use their Quirks, although they'd need special licenses to use them, just like with any real-life skill.**

 **With a few more breadcrumbs about the MC's backstory sprinkled about, I hope you'll all Review and Follow, and stay tuned for the next exciting part of the Yuuei Sports Festival.**

 **GO BEYOND!**

 **EXCELSIOR!**


	6. Battle Tournament: Prologue

**It occurred to my Beta to inform me that not-everyone is familiar with Arachnid and subsequently Caterpillar, the manga from which Oki Megumi (Gokiburi in the "Vitalityverse") originates and the detail that went into Genki's Mutant-Type Quirk was inspired by. To that end, since those and Killing Bites are really great manga, I'll provide a summary for Arachnid.  
**

 **[Arachnid Summary]  
Fuji Alice's life had always been difficult due to a mental condition no-one understood. Her life only got worse when she came home to find her uncle killed by the assassin Kumo (lit. "Spider"). While fighting for survival, Kumo notices her ability and trains her to become his successor. Suzumebachi (lit. "Hornet") of the assassin organization is against Kumo's involvement in her life, and thus the Arachnid Hunt begins, various insect-themed assassins each with their own unique method of killing and their own motivations for doing so sent after her, with only a few allies she can call upon for backup. Series includes insect (arthropod) trivia, poisons, cybernetics, and... hoooly SHIT that's wrong! And graphic. But also wrong!**

 **Obviously, there are differences between Oki in Arachnid and her My Hero Academia iteration. The largest difference of all is that the assassins of The Organization wouldn't be "anything special" in the MHAverse. Some of them would be high-end Villains to be sure, but the general populous wouldn't be completely helpless against them, because with Quirks, people _can_ fight back instead of being slaughtered like cattle. Because _circumstances_ ****are different in the MHAverse as well, not all the Assassins who make appearances in Vigorous Vitality will be evil, some would actually be Heroes because it's a tangible career path with benefits like a health plan and dental.**

 **Arachnid is the first manga I read by Murata Shinya, and Caterpillar is the prequel. Killing Bites is unrelated as it doesn't take place within the same universe, but the same general theme exists, only it has a heavy emphasis on gene-modding as the source of power instead of skills, mutations, or cybernetics, and it's more like a Battle Shounen.**

 **Anyway, since _this_ chapter is only 2.4K and doesn't cover a whole lot plot-wise, this'll be a rare double-release. Hope you enjoy it!**

 _ ***MHA***_

"Lunch break is now over! Before we get to the final event, I've got good news for all of those out of the running!" Present Mic announced as students and spectators alike began to pour back into the arena. "This is still a sports festival, so we've prepared a recreational activity for all participants! We've even shipped in cheerleaders from America to get you pumped up… Hmmm? What's this?"

"What're they doing?" Aizawa mumbled as students and spectators alike turned to the female students of Class 1-A, now clad in matching uniforms and pompoms to the cheerleaders, just with none of the pep.

In fact most of them looked like they'd swallowed a lemon.

"MINETA! KAMINARI! YOU TRICKED US?!" Momo raged, face flushed in embarrassment as the others hung their heads.

 _ **"** **All the girls have to be part of the cheer squad after lunch! Like them, over there!"**_

 _ **"** **No one told**_ **us** _ **about that…"**_

 _ **"** **Don't trust me? Whatever. Your loss. Aizawa-sensei told us about it himself."**_

"How'd I let myself get fooled by Mineta's stupid prank…?" Momo wailed.

"Those idiots…" Kyoka growled in embarrassment as she threw her pompoms down.

"Still time before the main event, no sense in sitting around. Why not just go with it?! It could be fun!" Toru giggled as she pumped her pompoms enthusiastically.

"You're enjoying this, Toru," Tsuyu commented as the invisible girl pumped in enough pep for the six of them.

"Hope everyone enjoys this little recreational competition! Once that's over, we're on to the final event! Between the seventeen members of the five winning teams, we'll have a formal tournament, a thrilling series of one-on-one battles!"

"A tournament, huh? So we'll be up in that ring I see on TV every year!" Kirishima said, sufficiently pumped up.

"Was it a tournament last year too?" Mina asked.

"The format's always different, but most years involve some kind of head-to-head competition," Sero nodded.

"The matchups will be decided by drawing lots. Once that's settled, we'll move onto the festivities and then the tournament itself!" Midnight announced, holding up a box with the word **Lots** slapped across the front. "Its up to each of you finalists to decide whether or not you participate in the fun. I expect _some_ of you would rather take a breather and save your strength. Now, let's start with the first-place team-"

"Um… Excuse me," Ojiro announced, raising up his hand. "I'd… like to drop out," he confessed, much to his peers' wide-eyed shock.

"Ojiro? Why?!"

"This is your chance to get noticed by the pros!" his classmates exclaimed in shock.

"The cavalry battle… I have no memories of anything that happened up until the tail end. It's probably _his_ Quirk that did it…" the [Tail] user confessed to his friends.

' _That's right. Ojiro was teamed up with_ that _guy…'_ Genki thought as he turned his eyes to his fellow General Course student, the indigo-haired teen shifting his head as the green-haired teen from 1-A tried to meet his gaze.

"I know this is a great opportunity. I know how stupid it must seem to throw it all away. But… This final tournament… Everyone else made it here by their own strength, yet I'm standing her and I don't even know _why_ ," Ojiro said clenching his fist. "I just… I can't accept that."

"You're thinking about it too hard! Just show what you're made of in the tournament!" Toru spoke up.

"Yeah, by _that_ logic, _I_ shouldn't really be here either," Mina confessed.

"No, I'm talking about my pride here… I don't think it's right," the teen said, shaking as he palmed his face. "Also… Why the heck are you girls _dressed_ like that anyway?" he said turning away, unsure where to look.

"I… I can't remember anything either. I wanna withdraw too!" Nirengeki Shoda spoke up. "This is a contest of skill. Letting someone who didn't do anything advance… Doesn't it defeat the whole point of the Sports Festival? Isn't it even against the rules?"

"These guys! So manly!" Kirishima awed.

"We have a strange turn of events… What will the coordinator, Midnight, decide?" Present Mic wondered.

"How naïve and green… I LIKE IT!" Midnight said with manic glee as she cracked her whip through the air. "Ojiro and Shoda have officially withdrawn!"

' _She_ liked _it?!'_ was the sum thoughts of most of the competitors.

"Replacing those two will be members of Team Kendo." _"Because reasons…"_ Genki could've sworn he heard her mutter.

"If it's gonna be like that, shouldn't it be _them_ instead? I mean, we were immobilized practically the whole time," Itsuka stated as she turned her head. "They were giving it their all to keep what they had until the very end. Team Tetsutetsu, I mean," she went on to say, causing said team to look up in surprise. "Don't worry, we're not colluding or anything. This just feels right."

"Y… You guys!" Tetsutetsu bawled, crying manly tears.

Tetsutetsu's team in turn selected their representatives, putting their strongest feet forward.

"So be it! Tetsutetsutetsu and Shiozaki bring us back up to seventeen competitors!" Midnight announced. "However, because of the odd number of students competing in the finals this year, one of you will have to fight one time extra. So… Who's it going to be~?" Midnight asked holding up a different ballot box, a masochistic look in her eyes.

The seventeen finalists walking up to Midnight one after the next, taking hold of folded sheets of paper from the box, all at once the gathered students opened them. All of them were greeted by blank pieces of paper… sans one.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me…" Genki grumbled as a big red dot stared up at him, all eyes falling on he who would potentially have to fight _four_ times to get to the finals to everyone else's hypothetical three.

"Aallright! Now that _that's_ out of the way, it's time for everyone to draw their ballots!" Midnight announced holding up the original **Lots** box. The gathered students drawing their lots, Midnight compiled the results, the jumbo screen behind her showing a four-stage tournament bracket accommodating seventeen competitors, all lines of which lead up to a golden crown featuring the Yuuei insignia, a large **U** with an **A** imposed in the middle. "And _heeere_ are the matchups!"

The blank slots on the seventeen-branched root-like bracket, opening the tournament up was **Midoriya v Shinso**.

' _If I win my first match… My second's against Todoroki!'_ Izuku realized, seeing the **Todoroki v Sero** placard in the next match after his, what he'd discussed with Shoto just after the Cavalry Battle ended fresh in his mind. "Shinso. That's gotta be…"

"Midoriya Izuku. That's you, right?" the indigo-haired Shinso asked as he came up behind Izuku, causing the green-haired teen to straighten.

' _It's him…!'_ Izuku gaped, remembering whom the glassy-eyed Ojiro had teamed up with in the last round.

Before he could speak up however, to his and Ojiro's surprise both, it was the hand of _Genki_ that clamped over his mouth, stopping him from answering.

"Hitoshi…" the oily-haired teen hummed.

"Genki…" the indigo-haired teen returned.

"Can I have a word with you?" he stated, jerking a thumb over his shoulder.

" . . . ?" Midoriya could only look on in confusion as the indigo-haired teen was led away.

"Midoriya," Ojiro called, getting his attention. "That guy… Don't answer him."

"?!"

' _Sooner than expected, then…'_ Todoroki mused, writing off his first battle from the get-go. _'Bring your best, Midoriya. I'm taking you down.'_

While he _did_ want to bring down Gokiburi Genki as well, the oily-haired teen was in a completely separate tournament block from him, and the soonest they'd be able to meet would be in the final match; if _that_.

As the Hero Course students became acquainted with their own opponents, some's reactions different than others, Hitoshi and Genki regarded one another, eyes of indigo meeting eyes of brown. The two General Course students held a stern gaze for several seconds, but ultimately is was Genki who spoke first.

"Congrats on making it this far."

"Thanks, though it was only natural _you'd_ make it this far. You paint a big-enough _target_ on your back?"

"So… I see you got a little _chatty_ with the competition before the Cavalry Battle," he said glancing at Ojiro and Nirengeki.

"These Hero Course kids are so full of themselves, they made it almost _too_ easy," the wielder of [Brainwash] chuckled. "Plus, you kicked up so much dust, no-one even noticed _me_ slink on through to the final event."

" . . . I won't criticize you for your methods. I'm not much different," Genki admitted as he glanced at Mineta. "All I'll say is… good luck," he said holding out his hand, the indigo-haired teen regarding the oily-haired teen's hand before grasping it, giving it a firm shake.

"Good luck to you too. May the best man win."

"Trust me, I intend to give it my best shot," Genki said with a grin.

"You know… You're the only person who can talk so fluidly with me," Hitoshi marveled. "That's a really good Quirk you have, making you immune to guys like me."

"More like a _resistance_. Nothing about my Quirk gives me full-on _immunity_ ," Genki corrected. " . . . Watch out for that kid's right hook," he said jerking his thumb at Midoriya. "Whatever Quirk he has, it's not joke."

"Oh don't worry, I know _exactly_ how to get under the skin of self-righteous guys like that," Shinso said with a self-assured grin.

"I don't doubt that," Genki said looking up at the tournament bracket.

Before he could even make it to the preliminary round _proper_ , he would first have to fight his partner from the Cavalry Battle, Minoru Mineta, the winner of which would go on to face Ashido Mina, the wielder of [Acid]. After that came either Tokoyami Fumikage or Yaoyarozu Momo, and after that, whoever managed to come out on top between Uraraka, Bakugou, Tetsutetsu, or Kirishima.

"Aaalllright! Now that we've set aside the tournament for the time being, let's get on with the thrill-a-minute festivities!" Present Mic announced loudly.

 _ ***MHA***_

During the events that followed, while those that fell short during the Cavalry Battle took part in the supplementary events, those in the final competition prepared in their own ways. Midoriya steeled himself after learning what he could of Shinso's Quirk, Tokoyami meditated up in a tree, Iida guzzled can after can of his premium fuel, Bakugou and Todoroki brooded. Mineta, Sero, Kaminari, and Ibara all competed in the scavenger hunt, while the girls of 1-A cheered their friends on, sans Momo and Kyoka who lacked their friends' enthusiasm. While Shinso was off resting, planning his future verbal assaults, now that his mother had arrived Genki had her make some alterations to his PE uniform, exposing his legs from above the knee down, and doing away with the sleeves entirely to let his skin breathe.

Suffice it to say, some relaxed, others dealt with it differently.

Before they all knew it, they brief reprieve had finally come to an end.

"Thanks, Cementoss!" Present Mic crooned as the blocky hero bent liquid cement into an immaculate tournament stage, even going as far as to incorporate torches into the four corners of the pedestal. "Hey guys! Are you ready?! You've been through hell to get here, but now it's time for the one-on-one tournament! You've got only yourself to rely on! Even if you're not a hero, this saying holds true! You know it! Spirit, technique, strength, wisdom, and knowledge! Use 'em all and show us your best!"


	7. Battle Tournament: Preliminary Round

In the preliminary round before the quarterfinals, from first to last, the eight individual matches were [Midoriya v Shinso], [Todoroki v Sero], [Shiozaki v Kaminari], [Iida v Hatsume], [Uraraka v Bakugou], [Tetsutetsu v Kirishima], [Tokoyami v Yaoyarozu], and at the very end was [Gokiburi v Minoru], the winner of which would go on to fight Mina.

An upset from previous years where _only_ Hero Course students received any sort of representation in the final event, was the presence of the two General Course dark horses, Gokiburi Genki and Shinso Hitoshi, as well as the Support Course student Hatsume Mei. This in addition to the villain attack at the USJ and Class 1-A's involvement with said altercation, meant that the first-year Sports Festival would receive as-much viewership, if not _more-_ than, the third-year Sports Festival that commonly dominated aforementioned viewership.

Whether it was intentional or not, the first fight of the preliminary round featuring a General Course student _guaranteed_ it that the two fighters would have everyone's undivided attention.

 _ ***MHA***_

"The first match! Making a weird face despite his excellent performance, it's Midoriya Izuku, from the Hero Course, versus… Sorry, but this guy hasn't really done anything to stand out yet! It's Shinso Hitoshi, from the General Course!" Present Mic announced as the two stepped onto their stage, Midoriya looking like he had something impossibly-heavy weighing on his mind, while Hitoshi had a lackluster, almost half-asleep expression on his face. "The rules are simple! Win by knocking your opponent out of the ring, immobilizing them, or getting them to say 'I give up'! Bring the pain! We've got our good old Recovery Girl on standby, and fight dirty if you must! 'Ethics'? Never heard of 'em! And of course, going for the kill is a no-no! You'll be disqualified, because a true Hero's fists fly only when in pursuit of villains!" he said as Cementoss bent a throne of cement for himself.

"'I give up,' huh?" Shinso asked. "Get it, Midoriya? This battle's going to test your strength of will. If you've got any kind of vision for your future, there's no sense in worrying about how you got here."

"Now, let's get this thing started!"

"Like that _monkey_ babbling about his stupid pride."

"READYYYYYYYYY!" Present Mic announced, Izuku's face contorted into a cringe-inducing WTF. "START!"

"What kind of dumbass throws away a chance like _this_?" Shinso went on to say, egging Izuku on more and more.

"WHAT'D YOU SAY?!"

Before Izuku could bridge the gap between them and knock out Shinso's lights out however, his body suddenly froze, Genki finding himself face-palming in the stands next to his mother.

"That idiot…" the oily-haired teen groaned, wondering how the guy who got second place in the Obstacle Course Race without even using his _Quirk_ let himself be egged on like that.

 _"Must not've been his_ smarts _if he fell for something so transparent._ "

"Gen-chan, can't he just shrug it off like _you_ did when you first met him?" Oki questioned, thinking about the story her son had told her after his first week at Yuuei while Present Mic gave the play-by-play.

When Genki and Hitoshi had first met, they'd had a small altercation that caused Hitoshi to let loose his Quirk. However, much to the indigo-haired teen's shock, Genki was able to break the [Brainwashing] after a few seconds with only a shake of his head and a clap to his cheeks. [Brainwashing] worked just fine on everyone _else_ , even the second-year students that had tried to bully them out of the money in their wallets, but the indigo-haired teen could never get it to work on Genki.

Or at least, not for very long.

"It's not that easy," Genki said shaking his head. "Shinso's Quirk might _seem_ magical, but it has very clear limits. Shinso can only use his Quirk on one person at a time, he can't make anyone do anything that requires speech or thought, and a sufficiently-strong jolt or shock will snap a person right out of it. Of course, the thing that gives _me_ resistance to [Brainwashing] is that his and my nervous systems are fundamentally different. Shinso's body has a _centralized_ nervous system, whereas mine is the exact _opposite_ ; a side-effect of our Mutant-Type anatomy."

"So basically since your 'thoughts' aren't all gathered in one place, it's like your brain is password protected?"

"More like we're running on incompatible operating systems," Genki hummed. "From what I remember, [Brainwashing] felt like a thin mist I could easily shake off. For someone with a _centralized_ nervous system… Based on what _I_ felt, I imagine to anyone else it's like their head's filled with a thick, inescapable fog. That or 'pea soup', if I'm using the expression right."

"So then Midoriya is _toast_ then?"

"Well…" Genki hummed as Izuku neared the edge of the ring. "The fat lady isn't singing _just_ yet."

 _ ***FWOOOSH!***_

A blast of air suddenly kicked up from the arena, the toe of Izuku's left foot mere centimeters from the out-of-bounds like, the green-haired teen panted heavily as he took a step back, wide eyes going to Shinso as he realized how-close he'd come to losing.

"Wh-What's this…? Midoriya stopped himself, at the last possible moment!" Present Mic gawped.

"So, Midoriya used his Quirk to hurt himself enough to shake it off… Hmmm…" Genki hummed as he squinted his eyes, spying Midoriya's bruised and battered fingers.

From that point on, the tone of the fight shifted radically.

While at the beginning, Shinso's laid-back barbs had been enough to put Izuku under his spell, _now_ , his taunting was frantic, almost desperate, as he attempted to [Brainwash] the green-haired teen once again. Izuku trying to push him out of the ring, Shinso was able to hit his opponent with a wicked right hook to the face, and even went so far as to turn them around so it was _Izuku's_ back to the abyss. However, before he could lose any more ground, Izuku pulled off a stunning over-the-shoulder throw, a loud _***WHAM***_ sounding as Shinso's back met the ground, his heels going out-of-bounds.

"Shinso is out of the ring! Midoriya moves on to the second round!" Midnight announced, Izuku's eyes going wide as the adrenaline rush died, the teen winced from both his busted-up fingers and his bloodied nose.

"Goodness gracious! We're off to an uneventful start!" Present Mic said, his disappointment at the lack of panache palpable. "Well, put your hands together for our fierce competitors!" he announced, feeling like the guy trying to start a car with a dying battery.

"So… He lost…" Oki hummed.

"Yeah… But he came really close…" Genki sighed.

Even though they'd only known one another for a few weeks, he and Hitoshi had become really good friends.

Even though Hitoshi's Quirk was perceived as being "villainous" and his own being considered "filthy", after their initial altercation, the two had found common ground in that they both wanted to overcome the societal stigmas leveled against them and become great Heroes. That neither of their Quirks repulsed the other due to lacking the ego to _care_ about such a minor detail…

Had they met in middle school, the two could've been like brothers.

"Still…" Genki couldn't help but smile as the students from the General Course and Pro Heroes alike showered him with adulation, either directly or indirectly. "I feel like Shinso has a real shot at this, even if he can't take that shot right now."

"Aren't you going to cheer him up?" his mom asked.

"Nah… It'd be too-weird if _I_ said anything. Shinso had to get this far while staying under the radar, but _I_ had to slap a neon sign across my back and literally make everyone eat my dust," Genki said shaking his head. "It might feel like a slap across the face if I try to console him too soon."

 _ ***MHA***_

"The wait is over!" Present Mic announced after the field was vacated and the cleaning drones sand blasted the small bloodspatter away. "The cream of the crop, yet this guy's somehow still as plain as they come, Sero Hanta of the Hero Course, versus… The best of the best! The strongest of the strong in 1-A! Todoroki Shoto!"

"Mmm… I don't really feel much like winning…" Sero said cracking his neck.

"Second match! START!"

The moment the match started, Sero's demeanor pulled a 180, the teen snapping out his arms like a gunshot and constricting "the strongest of the strong in 1-A" around the arms and legs.

"BUT I DON'T FEEL LIKE LOSING EITHER!" he said as he twisted himself around, attempting an instantaneous out-of-bound before his stronger opponent could retaliate.

"INCOMING!" Genki and Oki both cried, throwing themselves to the ground the moment they felt the air pressure dropping like a lead weight.

An enormous glacier of ice shooting up nearly double-as-tall as the stadium itself a moment later… students, Pro Heroes, and faculty alike could only gape at the massive ice formation that'd sprouted from the arena, Sero's half-frozen body a pinprick against the mountain of ice that had been suddenly called forth, the two torches over his shoulders summarily extinguished from the sudden cold front.

"Sero… Can you move?" Midnight asked from the referee stand, the right side of her body covered in ice.

"Y-Y-Y-You're k-k-kidding, right? Ow ow ow…"

"Sero is immobilized!"

"You're going up against _that_?" Genki's mother gawped as Todoroki began melting the enormous berg, turning the spectator stands immediately under it into a bit of a splash zone. "Geez, Yuki-chan's Quirk is no joke," she said looking up at the giant ice wall looming overhead.

"Yeah… I guess I am…" Genki answered, wondering if he stood any sort of chance agains a high-end Quirk like [Subzero].

"Todoroki moves on to the second round!"

 _ ***MHA***_

"With the arena all thawed out, it's time for the next match!" Present Mic announced a few minutes later, several spectators in sopping wet clothing suffering in silence while those of the aquatic or even amphibious nature _appreciated_ the unexpected 'accommodations'. "It's class B's own assassin, every rose has its thorns, right?! It's Shiozaki Ibara, versus… The sparking, killer boy, Kaminari Denki!"

"Pardon my objection, but what exactly did you mean by 'assassin'?" the vine-haired girl asked worriedly. "I have merely come this far seeking victory, not to take my opponent's life."

Ibara's spiel going on for several more minutes, the girl knowingly or unknowing sufficiently _cowing_ Present Mic and even leaving _him_ speechless, a feat unto itself, Genki's mother couldn't help but nudge her son in the ribs.

"Heeheehee… Who knew _hair_ -pulling was your kink~" she said pointing to the almost-bald spot on the girl's head.

"Okaa-saaan…!" Genki whined as spectators nearby gave him weird looks, a momentary blast of light causing him to blink his eyes.

"In case you didn't hear me… It's already over!"

"What the…? I blinked and I missed everything…!" Genki gawped. One moment Ibara and Denki had been standing across from one another, the prior yackety-yak-yakking about hero philosophy and platitudes. The next, the wielder of [Electrification] was strung up by an entire forest of vines, while Ibara stood behind a wall of vines separating them, hands clasped like an angel.

"Shiozaki advances to the second round!"

"No seriously, what did I _miss_?!" Genki gawped while his mother giggled.

 _ ***MHA***_

"Moving on… Who's next in the battle for the top?" Present Mic asked after the shortest fight in the history of Yuuei Sports Festival fights. "The first round's just about half over! Next up is Iida Tenya of the Hero Course, versus… Covered head-to-toe in support items, the girl that Gokiburi Genki sled-dog-ran to victory… Hatsume Mei of the Support Course!"

"Hey Gen-chan, isn't that all the stuff _you_ were wearing?" Oki questioned, observing the gear that the younger brother of Ingenium was decked out in.

"Yeah, but why would Mei…?" Genki asked before realizing how many cameras, social media screencasters, and sponsors were scattered all about. " . . . Clever girl," the oily-haired teen then said with a grin. Even though he only met the girl a couple hours ago, he knew _exactly_ what was going through the manic engineer's head.

From a purely _economic_ standpoint, it made a _ton_ of sense.

"Aren't those forbidden for Hero Course students? You have to put in a special _request_ for those things beforehand."

"Oh! I forgot! I didn't think it'd be a problem, seeing as how Aoyama wears that belt of his…" Iida confessed.

"Right. He applied for an exception," Midnight explained.

"I'm terribly sorry then! Except… I was so touched by my opponent's sense of sportsmanship!" he said with a bow. "Although she's a member of the Support Course… she came to me and said 'if we're to be seen as equals, then we should fight on equal footing.' She gave me these items to use! Her earnest spirit… I could never look down on it! That was my thinking!" Iida proclaimed boldly for all the world to hear, his hand upon his chest as though he were reciting Shakespeare.

' _So naïve…'_ Genki thought, facial muscles twitching as he tried not to bust out laughing the moment Midnight allowed it.

"Well, at least Muri-chan loves the new job," Oki giggled.

"Fourth match! START!" Midnight called out, Iida breaking out into a sprint towards her.

"What incredible speed, huh, Iida-kun?" Mei suddenly spoke into a microphone, the speakers scattered across her harness amplifying her voice so even those in the nosebleed section could hear her.

"Oh I am _so_ glad I recorded this," Genki said with a grin as he rested his phone on the banister in front of his seat, recording this for posterity.

"Your legs feel even lighter than usual, do they not?!" Mei asked. "That's what you can expect from my Custom Leg Parts, which keep up with their user's speed and _amplify_ it! Something Gokiburi Genki knows all-too-well from our landslide victory in the Cavalry Battle!"

The next moment a hydraulic bar shot out of the bottom of Mei's backpack, stabbing into the ground and thrusting the girl sidelong before a perpendicular bar came out, suspending the girl in mid-air as Iida tripped.

"However, dodging is no problem with my Hydraulic Attachment Bars!" the girl said as her eyes drifted into the nosebleed section, Iida's back-mounted support equipment letting out gusts of air and helping him regain his balance faster and better than he could've on his own. "What deft maneuvering, Iida! My Auto-Balancer makes the impossible movements, _possible_!"

The ensuing game of tag, complete with play-by-play sales pitch, went on for another ten minutes, the pink-haired girl showing off an impossibly-large amount of Support Items at Iida's expense, until finally…

"Phew… I believe they've seen it all _now_ ," Mei said with a self-satisfied look on her face. "There's nothing left to show!"

"YOU DECEIVED MEEEEEEE!" Iida cried as the "glowing" girl wiped the "glow" from her brow.

"Um… Hatsume is out of the ring! Iida moves on to the second round!"

"Sorry for using you like that, heh heh heh heh heh…" Mei said robotically, giggling as Iida cried-

"I REALLY DISLIKE YOUUUUU!" the younger brother of Ingenium wailed at being used.

"Well, you know what they say about suckers…" Genki hummed, his mother laughing her ass off in a very unladylike manner.

 _ ***MHA***_

"For the fifth matchup of the first round… A celebrity since his middle school days with a face only a mother could love… It's Bakugou Katsuki of the Hero Course, versus… My personal pick, a bubbly energetic girl, Uraraka Ochako, also of the Hero Course!" Present Mic announced as beauty and the beast squared off.

"You're the floaty one, right, round-face?" Bakugou asked. "If you're gonna back down, do it now, cuze crying uncle later won't cut it."

As Ochako's brow twitched at the unflattering nickname, Genki couldn't help but think- _'Puberty must've hit that guy like a truck.'_ –because his voice was _insanely_ deep for a fifteen year-old.

"Fifth match! START!"

The moment the fight began, Ochako ran in low, Genki realizing the girl was trying to get a TKO right off the bat. However, Bakugou wouldn't have any of it as he repelled the girl with an explosion from his hand, sending the adorable cinnamon roll skidding backwards. Seeing the outline of the girl's sleeve, Bakugou drove his opponent into the ground… only to find empty cloth as Ochako used the smokescreen to try and flank him. However, Bakugou once again sent her backwards, this time kicking up debris.

However, Ochako wasted no time, charging back in, only to get blasted by the teen's [Explosion] Quirk again, and again, and again, and _again_. Thick clouds of acrid black smoke belched into the air, furrows drawn into the arena as both fighter and debris were tossed around, after a while it got painful to even _watch_ , but despite it all, Ochako held strong. She may've been soft and round, maybe even downright _adorable_ , but this girl had freakin' _Adamantium_ in her spine if she could get up after all this punishment.

However, it wasn't long before a Pro Hero became more _vocal_ about the proceedings.

"Hey! That's not the way someone who wants to be a Hero acts! If you're so much stronger than her, just throw her out of the ring and finish it! Stop toying with the poor girl!"

"Yeah, he's right!"

"A group in the crowd has started booing!" Present Mic howled as the audience began to heckle him, though clearly, Bakugou didn't _give_ two shits. Hell, he didn't even give _one_ shit. "But to be honest, I agree-ack! An elbow? What's he big idea?" he cried as he was suddenly interrupted.

"Is the one who said he's toying with her a Pro? How many years of active duty?" Aizawa said, speaking up for the first time since the match began. "If that's what you're taking away from this than you can leave. No point in watching. Go home and start looking at job-hunting sites. She's come this far, and he knows her strength. His caution shows that he recognizes her as a worthy opponent," he said, saying the most at one time he'd said all day, sufficiently cowing the booing Heroes. "It's exactly because he wants to win so badly… that there's no room for carelessness or holding back."

"Almost ready… Thanks Bakugou…" Ochako said as she slowly rose to her feet. "Thanks for not dropping your guard," she said bringing her fingertips together, the physical strain stretched across her visage disappearing like the tension on a loosed bow string.

Feeling the air pressure shift above them, moreso than it had before, Genki and Oki both looked up to see that the debris Ochako had been subtly lifting high into the air was suddenly all coming down, a veritable _avalanche_ minus the mountain screaming down like a meteor shower!

As Ochako rushed in for the TKO however, Bakugou brought up his arm and obliterated the entire concrete deluge in a single blast with the force of a tactical missile, the backlash whipping those in the front seats back while Ochako was sent flying backwards, practically out-of-bounds.

"Man… that was pretty intense…" Oki hummed as tiny shards and pebbles of concrete drizzled like rain.

"Yeah… _Really_ intense…" Genki said as he looked at the round-faced girl, her eyes wide with shock and despair as her clutch move was foiled.

"What an explosion! Uraraka's secret plan just went up in smoke!"

"You know… I'm actually pretty glad she's in a different block from me, because…" Genki said as Ochako forced herself back to her feet, diving into the meat grinder once more. "I'm not sure I could stand up to that kind of determination," he said singing the girl's praises.

A moment later however, Ochako listed to the side, falling flat on her stomach, her body trembling as the strain of over-using her [Zero Gravity] caught up with her.

"Not yet…" Ochako bit out as Midnight ran to her side. "I can do this… I can still… fight…" she said as she crawled across the ground, her sheer, staggering willpower keeping her in the fight when all others would've fallen. "Otou-san… Okaa-san…" she said as she kept on going, even after going so-far beyond her limit, the unwavering love she held for her family spurring her onward, the crowd's cheers washing her over like a _tsunami_ , nearly enough to drown out the memory of the promise she'd made.

However… no matter how much the spectators rooted for her, urging her on… it was all for naught in the end.

No matter how much she struggled, Uraraka Ochako… just wasn't strong-enough.

"Uraraka… is unable to continue. Bakugou moves on to the second round!" Midnight announced once Ochako fell silent.

 _ ***MHA***_

"For the sixth matchup of the first round… Manly and passionate steel! From the Hero Course, it's Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, versus… Manly and passionate hardening! From the Hero Course, it's Eijirou Kirishima!" Present Mic announced.

"Even our/their intros are the same?!" Kirishima and Genki alike both squawked at the same time, Kirishima on the verge of tears while Genki was completely exacerbated.

"I can't tell if he's being redundant on accident or on purpose…" Oki hummed as the match began with a cry of- "Sixth match! START!"

"That didn't hurt at all!" Tetsutetsu growled after the first hit he received after their knuckles clashed.

"That didn't hurt, either!" Kirishima growled after the first hit _he_ received after their knuckles clashed.

For the next ten minutes, Kirishima and Tetsutetsu beat one another off-er, I mean, _up_ , the two of them going unconscious after a final cross-counter.

"Hey, anyone who can last ten minutes is a fucking _stallion_ ," a crass Hero in red-and-black one-piece suit sitting behind Genki and his mother said aloud. "What? We were all _thinking_ it…" he pouted.

' _Who is this guy talking to?'_ Genki wondered.

"It's a mirror image Quirk matchup, Tetsutetsu vs Kirishima!" Present Mic announced. "Just a straight-up beatdown with these two! And the winner is…" he paused as Midnight stepped forward to appraise the damage.

" . . . They are both down! We have a tie!" Midnight proclaimed. "In the event of said tie, we'll determine our winner after they recover with a quick arm wrestling match! . . . Or something."

 _ ***MHA***_

"For the seventh matchup of the first round… Offense and defense in one body. The dark samurai accompanied by Dark Shadow! From the Hero Course, it's Tokoyami Fumikage, versus… All-purpose Creation! She was admitted through recommendations, so her abilities are certified! Also from the Hero Course, it's Yaoyarozu Momo!"

"That Yaoyarozu girl… She doesn't look very _confident_ , does she?" Genki asked as the girl drew her arm across her body, hand on her bicep.

"On the other end of the spectrum, bird-boy seems _way_ too into this," Hitoshi hummed seeing Tokoyami crossing his arms, motionless, eyes closed, and completely stoic.

"Seventh Match! START!"

"So _that's_ what he meant by 'all-purpose creation'," Genki hummed as Momo formed a metallic kite shield out of her own skin, [Dark Shadow] battering her a step backwards, flying up before swooping down for another attack.

Like a bird of prey, the jet-black Quirk swooped down again and again, Momo put completely on the defensive in the wake of those relentless attacks. Her shield knocked loose, Momo summoned another shield in half the time, only for what followed to play out the same way.

Momo sent skidding back once more with a shriek, all of a sudden Fumikage retracted [Dark Shadow]. The girl blinking in confusion, in an instant she summoned a four-foot-long bo staff-

"Yaoyarozu!" Midnight suddenly cut in. "Out of bounds!"

Momo's eyes going wide, the girl looked down to see she had-in-fact, been knocked out-of-bounds. [Dark Shadow]'s retreat hadn't been because of a limit of time or range, there was simply no more reason to fight.

"An overwhelming victory! A completely overwhelming victory!" Present Mic announced, driving the knife deeper in as Momo processed just how-badly she had lost.

"Itai, that has _got_ to hurt her confidence…" Genki winced, seeing the defeated look in the girl's eyes.

"She'll bounce back. Remember, girls are _tough_. And if she _can't_ bounce back… maybe she wasn't meant to be a Hero at all," Oki said with crossed arms. "Well…" she said looking up at the electronic tournament board. "Looks like you're up next."

"Yeah… Looks like it," Genki nodded as he exhaled deeply, his tailored clothes rippling. "Wish me luck?" he asked over his shoulder.

"Where you're going, you don't _need_ luck, just a little skin. Gotta build the fanbase while they're young~" Oki said striking a pose, blowing him a kiss.

"Okaa-saaan… You're embarrassing me…" Genki said flushing red.

"Genki," Hitoshi said walking up to them. "Don't you worry about your mother. I'll keep her in line while you're down there."

"Hey, what's that-" Oki said before going fish eyed… for all of three seconds before shaking it off. "-supposed to mean?"

"I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," Shinso huffed at how-easily his [Brainwashing] was broken. "Like mother, like son I guess," he sighed rubbing the back of his head. "Still, my statement stands. I'll try to reign her in."

"I temper my sense of decency in expectation."

Walking off, as he made his way to the tunnel, Genki was met with applause and good luck not only from the audience, but the General Course and even the Pro Heroes as well. He'd heard plenty of times that people loved an underdog story because they could more-vicariously self-insert themselves into them, like harem anime with a super-bland protagonist, but to actually _receive_ this kind of adulation when years before his stigma had caused people to hold him beyond-arm's-length…

It felt really good. Like all the effort he'd put in would finally pay off, even if it hadn't returned dividends right-away.

 _ ***MHA***_

"Alright, folks! Our pre-preliminary fight is about to begin," Present Mic announced as the General and Hero Course students faced off against one another. "On one side we have the dark horse of the Sports Festival, the underdog who pulled his way through two rounds remaining undefeated and rocking those short pants… From the General Course, Gokiburi Genkiiiiiii!"

Waves of applause spilling down into the arena, none louder than his own mother, Genki drew a soft smile to his face as he waved to his adoring public. Playing to the crowd was just another part of what it meant to be a Hero.

Albeit, not-as-much as during the age of _corporate_ Heroes where all you had to do was show up and flash as many logos to the camera as physically possible.

"And on the other, facing off against his own partner from the last round, the grape-headed boy with the tiny character design… Minoru Mineta!"

' _Don't bring my character design into this…!'_ Mineta wilted.

"Eighth match pre-match fight! START!"

"Mineta… I appreciate you helping me get this far… but I can't afford to lose here," Genki said as he got into a stance.

" **Ultimate Move: GRAPE** **RUUUUUSH!** "Mineta called out as he rushed forward, any form of witty banter pushed to the back of his mind as he tore countless protrusions from his scalp and threw them, a deluge of "purple rain" sailing toward the bug-like teen.

"Well _alright_ then!" Genki said as Mineta got straight to the point, the teen rapidly dodging from side to side, contorting himself into odd angles in impressive feats of balance and agility as he dodged the projectiles.

A [Pop Off] soaring toward his face that Mineta had lead him into with his previous volley, to his and 1-A's shock, the oily-haired teen actually slapped it _aside_ with a loud _***WHAP***_ , the sticky ball flying sidelong forcing Midnight to dodge with an undignified yelp.

"What the hell?!" Mineta cried in shock, his assault momentarily ceasing while up in the stands, Izuku frantically scribbled into his notebook, wondering what kind of abilities would allow someone to completely nullify a super-powerful adhesive _like_ [Pop Off].

"Don't forget, Mineta, I've witnessed what your Quirk could do first-hand _too_ ," Genki said stepping forward, walking over and even _atop_ the teen's [Pop Off] with seeming impunity as the orbs squished under his oily soles like overripe fruit. "And I know _exactly_ how to fight Quirks like that," he said with a smile as he let his hand rest at his side, a droplet of oil falling from his fingertip.

"Well _that_ isn't fair at _all…_!" Mineta whined.

"Oh _I'm_ sorry. I don't _give_ a fuck," Genki said with a menacing smile as he ground his heel into the ground. " **Goki RUSH**!" he cried out as he suddenly accelerated.

"EYAAAAAAAGH!" Mineta screamed as Genki suddenly closed in on him in a blur, right leg drawn back.

" **GOKI KIIIIIIICK**!" Genki roared as three vents similar to on his palms dilated in a line down the back of his right calf, the compressed air that shot out giving the kick a little extra _punch_ as he caught Mineta in the chest with his shin, the grape-headed teen sent soaring out of bounds like an American football a moment later.

As if fate had decided to come full circle, instead of landing harshly on the concrete steps or even a vacant seat as spectators fled out of the way, the grape-headed teen landed atop the rotund stomach of the man whose **[Back Fat]** had been acquired by him during the Scavenger Hunt prior.

"It's going… It's going… IT'S GOOOOD!" Present Mic cheered, many of the Americans in the audience shooting up to their feet and raising their arms like a field goal.

"Minoru is out-of-bounds! The winner is Gokiburi!" Midnight announced, the audience cheering at the spectacle. For as-short a fight as that was, the Ultimate Moves –at least in the _declarative_ sense- added a nice bit of _kick_ (read: spectacle)to the fight. "Gokiburi, even though you completed your match in almost-record time, you still have the option of taking a brief recess before your follow-up fight with Ashido Mina."

" _I'm_ good to go another round!" he said pounding his fist, causing the audience to cheer. "Buuut it'll take a while for Ashido-san to get down here, so I'd be left waiting anyway," he interrupted, causing the fanfare to die down. "I'll be back after a quick water break. How does that sound?"

"I'll allow it!" Midnight said with a smile, still grinning from his clever double entendre.

 _ ***MHA***_

While Genki stepped out of the stage to have his aforementioned water break, nervous murmuring rose across 1-A's spectator box.

"Well… Guess he didn't tire himself out _that_ much. By the time he finishes that water break, he'll probably be back to a full tank," Sero sighed as he pat Mina on the shoulder. "My condolences."

"Hey, don't make it sound like I've lost _already_ ," Mina pouted, turning her attention to the most Quirk-savvy person in their class. "Any advice, Midoriya?"

"Speed… Wings… Compressed air… Reaction time… Oil… Antennae…" Izuku muttered frantically. "I feel like I've seen these abilities in one place before… It's right on the tip of my tongue, but I just can't recall…"

"You keep doing you, sweetie," Mina said patting the teen on the shoulder as he continued to mutter, oblivious to everything going on around him. "Well, wish me luck everyone!"

"Try not to let him _kick_ you," Tsuyu put in. As a girl who never skipped leg day, in a way she could _appreciate_ the technique he'd put into Mineta's airtime.

"And don't get caught up in his oil slick!" Iida then spoke up. "If that stuff gets onto your shoes, you can say farewell to your coefficient of friction!"

"Don't let him get his _hands_ on you," Jiro added with a small shudder. _"So gross…"_

"Give him one for _me_ , Ashido-san," Aoyama said giving her a thumbs-up. "Avenge meeeeeee!" he wailed dramatically.

"Hey, don't you guys worry about me," Mina said with a grin. "What could he possibly dish out that we haven't seen _already_?"

If only she knew.

 _ ***MHA***_

"You know him! You love him! The dark horse underdog of the Yuuei Sports Festival! How far will he climb to the top? From the General Course, it's Gokiburi Genki, versus… Is something going to come out of hose horns? Well? From the Hero Course, the pretty-in-pink superheroine to-be, it's Ashido Mina!" Present Mic announced a few minutes later as the two teens limbered up, Genki stretching out his legs while Mina stretched her arms above her head.

"Gokiburi, get her!" a voice suddenly cried out, Genki looking up into 1-A's spectator box to see the guy he'd just kicked up and at it again. "Beat her like in those fighting games where their _clothes_ get ripped off!"

"Well _he_ sure recovered quick," Genki deadpanned. "Sorry I took _him_ of all people into the final round," he apologized to the girl in front of him. "With a ten-million-point bullseye slapped across my back, I was desperate for _anyone_ to team up with me."

"Hey, no worries, _Gen-kun_ , in a minute none of that will even matter!" Mina taunted good-naturedly, an infectious grin on her face.

"Final match of the Preliminary Round! START!"

"Ashido Mina!" Genki shouted the moment Present Mic's announcement ended. "Don't hold back on me just because I'm from the General Course, because I'm going to come at you with everything I've got!"

" . . . Right! Cause I wouldn't have it any other way!" Mina said enthusiastically after a shocked pause. "Show me what you're made of!"

"Oh my! What a bold declaration!" Present Mic crooned. "Genki certainly has the mettle to back it up! Just how will our little pink alien fare against the dark horse of the Sports Festival?"

' _On the surface, Genki's words might not have all that much meaning, but on a_ subliminal _level, what he's doing is actually quite brilliant,'_ Aizawa thought with a wry smile as what the Gokiburi boy was scheming beneath the surface.

By using pre-fight dialogue at the point _of_ the fight where everyone would be paying more attention to _what_ was being said and take it super-literally, Genki was bringing both himself and Mina onto a neutral middle-ground. On the surface it was purely for the sake of good _sportsmanship_ , but _underneath_ that, he was running preemptive _damage control_ so nothing like in Bakugou's fight would happen to him if he "beat up" his female opponent.

Because for some reason in the twenty-third century people _still_ bitched about that sort of thing.

' _What a logical ruse…'_ Aizawa thought with a wry smile as Genki made the crowd, and even his _opponent_ , dance atop the palm of his hand.

Brand protection aside…

"Hey! Quit _copying_ me!" Mina cried as she and Genki both skate/strafed around one another in an attempt to flank, one propelling themselves with a weak acid while the other used oil.

"What're you talking about? My oil was out of my soles a half-second before your _acid_ was!" Genki bit back, adding a bit of _levity_ to the start of their fight.

"Well… Quit _followin'_ me!" she retorted.

"Hey, I started _first_ , so _you're_ the one following _me_!" Genki bit back.

"Well if _you_ won't attack first, I will!" Mina said as she changed direction. "Yoshaa! Ashido Mina goes on the offensive!" she said with a grin as fat globules of acid formed on her raised palms, the pinkette chucking them with a cry of- " **Acid Throw**!"

"Ah! My new shirt!" Genki cried as he was struck in the chest, the teen backing away from her as the textile fibers steamed, breaking down and exposing his flat stomach.

"I'm not letting you get away! **Acid Throw**! **Acid Throw**! **Acid Throw**! **Acid Throw**! **Acid Thr** oohoohoohooohhhwww…" her declaration trailed off as she inadvertently melted away more than she'd bargained for.

"Ashido Mina! If you melt away any more of his clothing, you will be disqualified!" Midnight cut in.

"Too little too late…" Genki grumbled, the layer of oil forming a membrane over his skin as his attire was melted down to naught but rags and threads. The shirt a lost cause, Genki discarded the now-ruined garment before commenting- "Does anyone else feel a draft?" –before looking down. "Son of a-"

"Language!"

The majority of Genki's pants melted away as well, instead of boxers or briefs, it was revealed that he was instead clad in a pair of black speedo-style trunks with white racing stripes down the sides, glistening with the same oily sheen as the rest of his body.

While before the audience became privy to what he looked like topless because he wanted to reduce drag and wind resistance for The Fall, _now_ , almost the whole of his body was on view for everyone to see as threads snapped and the rest of his clothing fell away to pool around his ankles, leaving him in nothing but a swimsuit and his sneakers.

Which-of-course made it _really_ creepy -at least to the _Americans_ \- that it was a _fifteen-year-old_ who was now being sexually objectified by the masses, if the whistling and cat-calls were anything to go by.

"Nice butt," Tsuyu said making her thoughts known as another strip of cloth was melted away from his speedo-clad derriere.

"DAMNIIIIIIIIT! WHY COULDN'T THEIR QUIRKS BE RE _VERRRRRSED_!?" Mineta wailed before Kyoka made her thoughts on the issue known.

"Holy crap, did you _plan_ this!?" Mina gawped as she covered her reddening face, peeking between splayed fingers.

"First off, EYES UP HERE!" Genki raged as his opponent's eyes wandered. "Second, THIS WAS JUST IN CASE THERE WAS A _WATER_ OBSTACLE LIKE _LAST_ YEAR!"

" . . . I suppose _that's_ fair…" Mina admitted with a pout as her eyes darted.

"Also, WHAT THE HECK DID YOU _THINK_ WOULD HAPPEN WHEN YOU STARTED FLINGING ACID EVERYWHERE!? IF I DIDN'T USE [OILPERATION] AT THE LAST SECOND, I'D HAVE HAD TO SUE YOU FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT!" he raged as he kicked away the remaining scraps of cloth at his feet.

"Well, _okay_ , but… You think maybe we could take a brief recess so you could put a change of _clothes_ on?" Mina asked. "I swear not to use my [Acid] on you anymo-"

"Denied!" Midnight cut in.

"Well _that_ was fast," Present Mic chuckled. "The fight will resume uninterrupted!"

"At least we don't have to cut to commercial because of another _wardrobe_ malfunction," Aizawa sighed when he remembered _last year's_ Sports Festival.

"What's the matter, _Mii-chan_?" Genki taunted. "You afraid of a little _skinship_?" he asked as he took a step towards her, his nose scrunching a moment later. "OH CRAP! IT GOT ON MY SHOES!" he then cried as the tops of his sneakers began to melt from the runoff. "Dammit, Mii-chan! _This_ is why we can't have nice things!"

"HEY! IT'S NOT LIKE I _PLANNED_ IT THIS WAY!" Mina cried, since by the looks on everyone's faces beings sent her way, _she_ was being made out to be some kinda pervert.

"Once again, WHAT THE HECK DID YOU _THINK_ WOULD HAPPEN WHEN YOU STARTED FLINING ACID EVERYWHERE!?"

"Trust me, I'm not keen on seeing anymore skin than I already am."

"Your darting eyes do _not_ inspire confidence," Genki deadpanned.

"Enough! Let's just _fight_ already!" Mina said with a reddening face. "Get over here!"

"With pleasure!" Genki grinned as he ran at her as well.

While Midnight squealed giddily about "teenaged oil wrestling", Mina and Genki met in the middle, fingers interlocked as the two teens grappled. Acid and oil dribbling from both their palms, pooling at their feet, the two teens circled one another as they attempted to overpower the other.

"Heh… You're pretty good," Mina said with a grin as the oily teen held his ground against her.

"Oh, I'm just getting _started_!"

The next moment Genki grabbed Mina's shoulders, throwing both legs under her right armpit before circling around beneath her left, his legs sweeping up and trapping her neck between his thighs. Genki's torso swinging back around, the centrifugal motion spun them once, twice, three times over before he swung his torso back under Mina's arm, planted his feet firmly on the ground, and sent Mina for a loop.

"Whoa! What an epic Black Widow throw!" Present Mic crooned as Mina was thrown onto her back.

"How the heck did you do that?! Who even _taught_ you that!?" Mina cried, flushed redder in the face than usual thinking back to the teen's oily, lean, speedo-clad thighs wrapped around her face.

"Hey, it's embarrassing for me _too_ you know," Genki said, a dusting of red on his _own_ cheeks as he got back into a stance.

"Don't think I'll let you out of here _unscathed_ , ecchi-kun!"

"If I'm a pervert, you're a _super_ pervert for trying to make me naked!" Genki cried as Mina rushed at him.

Mina throwing her entire weight into his midsection, arms wrapped around his waist, the girl tried to force him to the ground, only to begin slipping off her opponent's lean, oiled-up body like a fireman's pole. Her hands scrambling for any kind of handhold, before Mina could grab his speedo and inadvertently cause a wardrobe malfunction, Genki leaned down and trapped the girl's head between his arms in a textbook standing Guillotine Choke. The pink-skinned girl flailing her arms as she tried to fight her way out of the choke, his oily hide only served to foil her at every turn, the oil around her neck actually making it _harder_ to get out as an airtight seal was formed.

Before she could black out, Mina flooded her soles with acid, melting new footholds into the ground at her feet giving her the leverage she needed to finally force Genki to the ground. In a few moments, the teen's oily hide proved to be a _detriment_ , as Mina started sliding him back-first towards the out-of-bounds line. Mina holding strong, Genki was forced to relinquish his grip of her, lest he lose on a technicality.

"Ewww… I'm all _slimy_!" Mina whined as she scraped the oil off of her neck. "I hope you'll take _responsibility_ for this," she said tugging at her oiled-up clothes.

"Phrasing!" Present Mic whooped, muffling Genki's mirrored outburst as he and Mina got into ready stances oncemore.

"Come on…!" Mina said running at him, Genki circling around behind her and backpedaling away from the pink-skinned girl's grip. "Don't you want _Mii-chan_ to give you another hug?"

"No…" Genki hummed as he waited, waited, waited until the opposite out-of-bound line was at his back. "I want you to make a _mistake_ ," he said suddenly zipping forward.

Dropping down, Genki slid between the girl's legs like a baseball player with the help of his oily hide. The oily-skinned teen rolling onto his belly and grabbing the girl's ankles as he went, Mina had to windmill her arms backwards so she wouldn't land out-of-bounds face-first.

The next moment Genki leapt up, straddling the girl's back and bringing her to the ground, the pink-skinned girl wincing as she planted her palms on the ground at her sides, arching her back so wouldn't bite off her tongue or have her chin hit the out-of-bounds line.

Mina soon found her chin being lifted away, but not for her own benefit. Genki's right arm snaking around her neck, Mina soon found her left arm being twisted behind her back and his knees at her hips as he bent her backwards, the girl yelping as she was drawn into a 90-degree angle Arm Bar.

"Itai! Itai! Itaitaitaitaitai!" Mina winced in pain as her right arm flailed and her legs kicked helplessly, secreting acid from her neck and wrist to no avail as once more her [Acid] slid off his [Oil] like water off a duck's back.

"Ashido Mina… Can you still move?" Midnight asked, a tiny rivulet of blood dribbling from her nose as the two teens writhed against one another.

"Yeah… I'm not out of this ye-"

 _ ***Crick***_

"YOW! ALRIGHT ALRIGHT! I GIVE! I GIVE!" Mina cried as she was drawn into an _acute_ angle Arm Bar.

"Mina has conceded! The winner is Gokiburi!" Midnight announced, the audience cheering from the edges of their seats as Mina was released, the girl letting a satisfied sigh mixed with a whine leave her lips as she laid parallel to the ground.

"Mina…" Genki said as he stood above his defeated opponent. "That was a wonderful fight. I hope we can spar again, someday," he said with a soft smile as he held out his hand.

" . . . Heh. You're not so bad yourself," Mina said with a grin as she took his hand, allowing herself to be pulled up. "Though next time, try to keep your clothes on."

"Hey, that was _your_ fault, not mine."

"Still, that was a heckuva fight, Gen-kun! You better not lose to anyone else, ya hear?" she asked holding out her fist.

"I can only promise to do my best," Genki said as he returned the fist bump, Mina's infectious smile spreading to him.

"So… Not that I don't enjoy the free _show_ and all…" she said as Midnight squealed about 'dreams come true' in the background, "but are you going to put your _clothes_ back on, or…" she asked with a grin as she pointed to his near-naked body.

"Hey, _you_ were the one getting all _handsy_!" Genki said crossing his hands over his chest like a girl bereft of their swimsuit.

"Only because _you_ lubed yourself _up_ and tried to _wrestle_ me!" Mina said with a grin and an eye smile.

"And with that, the preliminary round is now concluded!" Present Mic announced as Genki and Mina continued to banter back-and-forth. "We'll need a brief intermission to get all the _juices_ off the stadium floor, so grab your concessions and take your bathroom breaks! We'll be back _real_ soon!"

 _ ***MHA***_

 **AN:  
While Genki's presence in the Cavalry Battle has more of a "butterfly affect" because of all the radial variables he can influence by snatching away two people from two teams and changing top-player mentality (like _who_ is considered the biggest threat and how said-threat would _retaliate_ ), in the Battle Tournament, that isn't really the case.**

 **Because Izuku's battles with Shinso and Todoroki both are major character development milestones for** _ **all**_ **of them, I couldn't in clear conscience change any of** _ **that**_ **out, because if I shoehorned Genki into** _ **those**_ **fights just for the heck of it, it would've done more harm than good to them in the long run; that and if I tried "shoehorning" him into _those_ fights which are so titular to the canon, well... it'd be shorehorning. In addition to that, putting Genki and Shinso on opposite ends of the tournament bracket -so they couldn't hypothetically meet until the final round- made the most thematic sense.**

 **While the Canon fights were largely third-person recaps/abridgements with a joke sprinkled here and there, I hope you'll comment and Review on Genki's one-two matchup, especially the fight Choreography since a person's Quirk will** _ **greatly**_ **influence how they fight, and I had so much fun working in how Mina's [Acid] and Genki's [Oilperation] sub-Quirk would clash.**

 **Hope to hear from you soon.**

 **GO BEYOND!**

 **EXCELSIOR!**


	8. Battle Tournament: Quarterfinal Round

"You did great out there, Gen-chan! I'm so proud of you!" Oki cooed from outside the shower room.

"Yeah, I'm pretty proud of myself too," Genki admitted as he stood in the hot shower, washing away the sheen of oil on his body as he thought back to his fights thus-far.

While Mineta was quite literally "small fry", Ashido Mina was a more-serious contender. Were it not for his **Goki Oil Flow: Acid Armor** , Mina might've given him more than just a chemical burn or two, and thankfully he'd been able to preserve his modesty once the acid started flying.

 _Most_ of his dignity, at least.

While one concern over the whole debacle was what kind of weirdos and pervs might want him to intern at their agencies, assuming he advanced far-enough that the Hero Course would want to take him _in_ , even if he got a _reputation_ as a pervert, heroes like Kayama Nemuri aka "The R-Rated Hero: Midnight" was proof that even with a rep like that, you could still have a fulfilling career as a Pro Hero.

He just hoped he wouldn't have to strip _too much_ in this tournament. He actually wanted to be taken _seriously_ by his peers after graduation, and unlike Midnight, his Quirk didn't necessarily give him an _excuse_ to run around in super-revealing attire.

"You should probably hurry up. Once they get the last of yours and Mii-chan's _fluids_ off the ground, they'll get started with the quarterfinal round. You wouldn't want to miss the heads-up about your possible opponents, would you?"

"Right, I'm just about finished," Genki said stepping out of the shower, toweling himself off.

Getting on his clothes and tightening the laces of his shoes which _also_ had to be replaced, the moment he stepped out of the student showers, a wave of unease suddenly washed over him. His blood growing hot and his heart pounding against his rib cage, the teen's legs buckled underneath him. A hand clawing at the wall as he fell, the teen was barely able to take a knee, his mother catching him before he could fall the rest of the way.

"Before you go out there… you should probably take your medicine," she said fishing a small cylinder wrapped in a handkerchief out of her purse. "You left your dosage at home in your excitement this morning."

"I wonder…" Genki hummed as he propped himself against the nearby wall, looking down at the wrapped cylinder in his hand, then towards the arena down the hall. "Can I really become a Hero… if I have to take something like _this_ all the time?" he asked aloud. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry for what happened to dad."

"Gen-chan, we've been over this a hundred times already. What happened back then wasn't your fault. It was that _villain's_ fault," Oki pouted, resting her fists on her hips.

"Well it sure _feels_ like it's my fault," Genki grumbled as he rolled up his left sleeve.

Unwrapping the handkerchief and pulling the cap off the triple-needled syringe with his teeth, Genki stared intently at the trio of hypodermic needles, their ends glinting in the light as his thoughts turned to the most-intimidating members of Class 1-A. The inescapable walls he'd have to overcome if he wanted even a _shot_ of promotion.

"If only… If only I were stronger…" Genki said as he pressed the needles into the bottom of his bicep.

Gritting his teeth as the dark-blue drug entered his bloodstream, his blood cooled in his veins, and the danger passed.

 _ ***MHA***_

"So, what did I miss?" Genki asked of Hitoshi as they got back to their seats.

"Not much. Kirishima and Tetsutetsu arm wrestled for the tiebreaker," the indigo-haired teen answered. "Also, Midnight started getting real _weird_ about it."

"Though if you ask _her_ , she'll just say she's 'passionate' about her work as an educator," Oki sighed.

"So who won?" Genki asked.

"Kirishima," Shinso answered. "Apart from yourself and Shiozaki, most of the battle tournament looks like a bunch of 1-A infighting."

" . . . You still bummed out you lost?"

"Even if I was, would that change anything?" the indigo-haired teen asked. "Don't you worry about me, I'll make it into the Hero Course my own way. You just focus on getting there _yourself_ , otherwise you'll have to wait another year for a chance like this."

"Yeah, I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Genki hummed as he rubbed his left bicep, the first match of the quarterfinals starting with earnest. "I'll even put in a good word for you when I get there."

" _If_ you get there," Shinso retorted. "Best chance you'll have is _winning_ this thing, so don't count your chickens before they hatch."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Genki said turning his eyes to the arena, orbs of brown drinking in every detail on who he might have to fight later-on.

 _ ***MHA***_

"Barring one dark horse in the Sports Festival, both of these competitors have won top marks thus-far! On one side we have Midoriya Izuku from Class 1-A, the guy with the _crazy_ strong right hook! On the other side we have Todoroki Shoto also from 1-A, this kid's too cool for school! Just who will win this epic opening bout?"

"Quarterfinal first round! START!"

Todoroki's immediate opening move was to summon a giant glacier, the massive wall of ice shooting towards Midoriya. The next moment however, Izuku flicked out his middle finger, a massive blast of wind ripping the glacier to shreds and sending Todoroki backwards. The two-toned teen would've been sent completely out-of-bounds if he hadn't made a wall at his back.

"WHOAAA! He smashed _through_!" Present Mic whooped.

"Urp! God, that looks like it really hurts," Genki retched, almost on the verge of hurling as the process repeated itself four more times, Midoriya's fingers left purple and broken as he expended them one by one.

"Yeah. It's like he can barely control his own Quirk," Shinso said as Todoroki leapt up from atop his own glacier and swooped down on Midoriya from above.

"Maybe he's a late bloomer?" Oki questioned as the greenette dodged, Todoroki palming the ground and sending another wave of ice out to close the distance.

The teen's right foot getting caught, the next moment another blast of wind kicked up through the arena, dust and ice shards sent flying in every direction. The clouds clearing, it was then revealed that nearly the whole of Midoriya's left arm was purple and bruised, blood dripping from numerous lacerations.

"URP! _God_ , this is hard to watch…" Genki groaned on the verge of hurling. "These front-row seats are more trouble than they're worth."

"Only defending and dodging?" Todoroki asked. "It's taking a _toll_ on you."

Suddenly all around Genki, the audience started muttering about how Todoroki was "already stronger than most pros" or things like "as expected from the son of the number-two Hero" and so-on. Personally Genki found it all quite offensive because they were basically treating him like an _extension_ of his father instead of his own person.

"Sorry for all this. I appreciate it, though, Midoriya. Thanks to you… he doesn't look too happy," Todoroki hummed as he looked to the side, watching Endeavor silently fume up in the stands as he continued to use only his [Subzero] Quirk. "Anyway, with both your hands destroyed like this, you can't fight anymore. Let's just end this."

"Whoa! And Todoroki continues his relentless assault! Could this next ice attack win it all?" Present Mic asked.

"WHO SAYS I'M DONE?!" Izuku demanded, Todoroki going wide-eyed as yet another "smash" blasted through the air, Todoroki barely a meter from being knocked out-of-bounds as Izuku flicked out with his _broken_ fingers.

"Why go that far?" Todoroki asked as he got up from his barricade.

"You're shivering… Todoroki…" Izuku said as his body trembled. "Quirks are still just physical abilities. You have a limit to how much of that could you can bear! But then… You could always use your left side to thaw yourself out, right? Everyone's… giving I their all! To win… To achieve their goals… To make it to the top! And you're gonna win with _half_ your power? You still… haven't put a scratch on me! GIMME EVERYTHING YOU GOT! COME AT ME!" Todoroki shouted, clenching a hand with broken fingers as he tried egging his opponent on.

"Geez, what's this idiot planning? Does he even _want_ to win?" Shinso asked, noticing that Todoroki's body was starting to freeze over.

"Hard to say, but he _definitely_ egged Todoroki on just then," Genki hummed as Todoroki scowled angrily, closing the distance between them on-foot. The two nearing one another, Midoriya suddenly shot forward the moment his opponent raised his left leg mid-stride, the teen diving in with a right punch that nearly folded his opponent in half, his left arm getting frozen over in the exchange.

As a result of said hit, Todoroki was sent tumbling across the stage like a ragdoll, the spectators wincing at the sounds his body was making with each bounce.

Todoroki's ire rising, with a stomp of his right foot he sent out yet another wave of ice. However, _this_ one was far weaker; weak-enough that Midoriya could sidestep it, even as messed-up as he was.

Todoroki moving in for another attack, Midoiya then slipped his broken _thumb_ into his mouth, flicking it out with his cheek and sending Todoroki flying once more, the two-toned teen the closest he'd ever gotten to being knocked out-of-bounds.

"Just trying to meet expectations! A smiling… dependable… cool hero…" Izuku muttered as he dove after Todoroki. "That's what I wanna be! That's why I'm giving it everything! For _everyone_!" he said headbutting Todoroki, sending him reeling. "Your experiences… Your _determination_ … I can't even begin to imagine what all that's like, but… If you want to reject your father, that's fine… But you don't have the right to be number one if you aren't going to use your full power!" he shouted drawing his right arm back. "That's why… I'm going to win this!"

Todoroki rendered dumbstruck by Izuku's words, memories he'd long-suppressed flashing before his eyes, the two-toned teen was completely open for the right straight that Izuku landed in his gut, sending him flying through the air.

"No… I'll show my father…" Todoroki muttered.

"Your power… IT'S _YOUR_ POWER! NOT _HIS_!" Midoriya shouted, trying to get through to Todoroki, even now.

Of course, Genki didn't have the whole picture to know what they were going on about, why they were blabbering so much during the middle of the fight, but just like many others, he too was completely shocked when Todoroki began spilling out tongues of flame from the left side of his body, a mantle of bright orange fire that billowed around him, the ice dominating his right side thawing.

"YES! SHOTOOOOO!" a voice suddenly bellowed, Genki looking up to see that the blabbermouth was none other than the No.2 Hero, Endeavor. "SO YOU'VE FINALLY ACCEPTED IT! YES! EXCELLENT!" he proclaimed as he walked down the stairs with bold, almost _violent_ strides, the flames masking him burning with an almost _manic_ glee. "IT ALL STARTS FOR YOU NOW! WITH MY BLOOD PUMPING THROUGH YOUR VEINS, YOU WILL SURPASS ME… YOU WILL FULFILL… MY AMBI-"

Before Endeavor could finish his rambling speech, a shadow loomed over him before a massive hand suddenly clamped down on his shoulder, heedless of the fires that burned there and tightening like an industrial vice.

"All Might… This is _my_ moment… Don't you _dare_ get in my-"

The moment Endeavor looked over his shoulder however, it became obvious that this was _not_ All Might he was dealing with.

Easily taller than him by half a foot in stature, the massive man whose hand gripped his shoulder was incredibly muscular with thick, dark-brown skin. Bearing a large physical resemblance to the Homo Erectus, the man's hair was incredibly short with pair of bug-like antennae sticking out atop his head, his eyes beady with an emotionless expression on his face. The man was clad in a similar triple-extra-large suit to All Might, only colored white with a black tie.

Though he'd been retired for several years now, his identity was unmistakable; at least to Endeavor.

The massive hulk of a man staring down at Endeavor with a completely neutral expression, he then raised a digit to his lips, _shushing_ the No.2 Hero as though he were naught but a petulant child.

Bristling with rage, Endeavor was about to snap back at the "has-been Hero", only for the massive hand from before to clamp itself around his face instead, silencing any protest he had before he was dragged off, leaving Midoriya and Todoroki to fight uninterrupted.

"Well… _Someone's_ got issues," Shinso muttered as he watched Endeavor being dragged away.

"Yeah, no shit," Genki hummed. "Still, nice to know my dad was able to get here in time for the big event. Never thought I'd make it _this_ far to be honest."

"Wait, that thing was your _father_!?" Shinso gawped in complete and total shock as he beheld the larger-than-life figure in the distance.

"Shush, the fight's still going on," Oki shushed, Midoriya and Todoroki exchanging a few more words before they dove back into the heat of it once again.

A mantle of flame enveloping the left side of Todoroki's body, a massive sheet of ice spilled out his right foot with renewed vigor. At the same time, Midoriya squared his feet, his left pant leg ripped away by an invisible force while arcs of lightning danced across his right arm. The green-haired teen lunging over Todoroki's ice, the two-toned teen in turn called forth a massive wall of flame, the two threatening to meet in the middle, five walls of cement rising up mere moments before contact.

"HIT THE DECK!" Oki cried as she tackled Genki -who was in the process of tackling Shinso to the ground- the moment she sensed the air pressure changing.

The very next moment, a loud _***WHAKOOOOM!***_ filled the arena as a massive blinding light erupted from the center of the stage, a blast of rising air and shards of concrete nearly blowing the people in the front row out of their seats, the blast of hot air colliding with cold even managing to hit those in the _nosebleed_ section.

"What… What the heck just _happened_?!" Present Mic gawked, mirroring everyone's thoughts as Genki and his mother poked their heads over the railing, beholden to the nearly-unmitigated destruction the two's ultimate moves had wrought.

"All that chilled air was heated up in an instant, making it expand," Aizawa said matter-of-factly, seemingly nonplussed by what he'd just witnessed.

Coming up with a textbook explanation like that so-quickly was a credit to his many years of experience as a Pro.

"Not that I'm not glad he's still in one piece, but _how_ the hell is he still in one piece?" Genki asked as he looked to the left, spying the prone form of Midoriya leaned against the far wall as the dust began to settle, his body _amazingly_ intact despite weathering what may as well've been a tactical _nuke_ dropped in their laps.

"Midoriya is out-of-bounds… The winner is Todoroki!" Midnight announced moments after Izuku slid down the wall and dropped to the ground.

 _ ***MHA***_

Suffice it to say, with the way Midoriya and Todoroki ripped the stage a superfluous new asshole, the faculty _definitely_ had to call an intermission as they repaired the stage. So much of the stage had been borderline _vaporized_ they had to whip up a completely new batch of cement. Even though Yuuei bought the stuff in _bulk_ , this wasn't something you could just slap back together with a hope, a prayer, and some duct tape.

While repairs were being made, many spectators left their seats to either refresh their snacks, or for those in the front row… get a fresh change of pants…

It took a while, about as long as it took for Cementoss to repair the stage, but eventually the fanfare for the first quarterfinal match died down, giving way to the second which in comparison to the first was rather… underwhelming.

 _ ***MHA***_

"In the exciting second match of the quarterfinals… The _not-an-assassin_ of Hero Course Class 1-B, Shiozaki Ibara, versus… The boy that never skips leg day, it's the engine of destruction, Iida Tenya also of the Hero Course!"

"Quarterfinal second round! START!"

" **Ultimate Move…** " Iida intoned as he got into a runner's start the moment the match began, Shiozaki's vines creeping towards him like a wave of tentacles as his legs let out a keening whine. " **Recipro BURST!** "

Blue flames spilling out of his calves as the roar of a jet engine filled the air, in an instant Iida was behind Ibara, the [Engine]-user grasping her shoulders before shooting off once again, the [Vine]-user's eyes squinting until she came to a stop, eyes wide as she found herself out-of-bounds in all the time it took to blink.

" . . . Shiozaki is out-of-bounds!" Midnight announced once she processed how-quickly the match had ended. "The winner is Iida!"

"Holy _shit_ that was fast," Shinso gawped, realizing if he'd faced _Iida_ in the first round and he wasn't able to get under his skin in time, it could've been _his_ fight that ended just-as-quickly.

"Yeah, but it looks like he's a one-pump chump," Genki hummed as he noticed smoke sputtering from his mufflers after all of ten seconds, Iida looking like the little car engine that _couldn't_.

"Gen-chan, where'd you learn that kind of language?" his mother demanded with an angry pout.

"My army of Onee-samas…" Genki replied, suddenly trembling with fear. "So many marshmallows… So many oil massages…" he shuddered as he hugged himself. _"The horror…"_ he trembled with wide, manic eyes.

"Dude . . . You've got _issues_ ," Shinso said bluntly while his friend had brain-melting flashbacks.

"For the love of kami, _please_ tell me you left them at home!" Genki pleaded on bent knees, his eyes darting around to very dark corner as though something would jump out at him.

"Don't worry, Gen-chan, your father has them working out-of-town today. You don't need to worry about them embarrassing the living daylights out of you," Oki giggled with a wave of her hand.

"Oh thank kami…" Genki said as he crumpled tiredly like a wet sock.

"For _today_ at least. No telling what those girls might pull _tomorrow_ ," Oki said cheekily, causing her son to wail into the heavens.

" . . . _So_ many issues…" Shinso felt the need to repeat as nearby spectators gave them weird looks.

 _ ***MHA***_

"In the third quarterfinal match, it's a clash of 1-A heavy hitters! The living nuclear warhead, Bakugou Katsuki, versus… Manly and passionate hardening stronger than steel, Eijirou Kirishima!"

"Well, at least he mixed things up a little," Kirishima sighed, Bakugou cracking his knuckles off to the side.

"Quarterfinal third round! START!"

Kirishima moved in with a right hook the moment the match started, his jagged [Hardening]-enhanced knuckles drawing blood from Bakugou's cheek as the dodged at the last second. In return, Bakugou blasted Kirishima under the right arm at point-blank range, sending Kirishima staggering back.

"Ha! Nice try! That's not gonna work on me!" Kirishima said with a toothy grin, his shirt blown away revealing his torso too had become hardened. The red-headed teen diving in once again, Bakugou forced to dodge Kirishima's Quirk-augmented fists lest they damage his future marketability, the blond-haired teen was forced onto the defensive for a good minute until an opening presented itself, blasting Kirishima under his _left_ arm.

However what was _different_ was that while before Kirishima only staggered, now he was _reeling_ , the red-haired teen soon smothered in another explosion at point-blank range, the teen guarding his face with his arms. The dust settling a moment later, Bakugou dove straight in, peppering his opponent with a one-man bombing raid that painted the air bright shades of yellow and orange. Kirishima weathered the staccato of explosions admirably, but in the case of the immovable object and the unstoppable force, the unstoppable force won.

"Now DIIIIIIIIE!" Bakugou raged as he swept his arm up with a final explosion thrown in, his opponent sent sailing through the air before landing flat on his back.

"Kirishima is unable to battle! The winner is Bakugou!" Midnight announced a moment after checking on him.

"Yeah, no _shit_ he's unable to battle," Shinso deadpanned. "Seeing these other fights, I'm starting to think I got off easy."

"Maybe, but I have the feeling it'd be _really_ easy for you to get under that guy's skin," Genki hummed.

"Yeah, it _did_ seem like he was the sort whose skin you could get under easily," Shinso nodded as he rubbed his back from when Midoriya threw him. "So… How do you intend to beat _that_?"

"I'm… not completely sure," Genki admitted. "I've still gotta worry about _this_ match before I even _think_ of going up against explosion boy."

 _ ***MHA***_

"In the final match of the quarterfinals, we have the lord of darkness himself, the Hero Course's own Chuunibyou, Tokoyami Fumikage, versus… the General Course's own master oil wrestler, Gokiburi Genki!"

"I am _not_ a chuuni…" Fumikage grumbled, blushing under his feathers.

"Hey, at least _you_ didn't get called a 'master _oil_ wrestler'," Genki grumbled, wondering if he'd have to cater to _that_ part of the fanbase.

Japan invented tentacle porn. It could invent just about anything else porn-related.

Let's just say after the advent of Paranormality, Mutant-Type Quirks in particular, hentai started to get a bit more… _creative_.

And disturbing.

But also more-creative.

Internet Rule #35.

"Quarterfinal's final match! START!"

"I don't care if you're a chuuni, if you do _anything_ to the change of clothes that I _just_ got, I'm _suing_ your feathery ass!" Genki raged.

"Believe me, that is _far_ from my intention," Fumikage said, trying to remain as-stoic as possible. "Go! Dark Shadow!"

 **"Hai, aibou!"** Dark Shadow said as he shot forward, aiming for a massive claw swipe.

Genki backpedaling to see just how much slack the "umbilical cord" connecting the two had, the oily-haired teen noticed that Dark Shadow slowed down after roughly half of the stage's length. And not only was he on the "end of his rope", but his physical movements seemed to slow as well. Like it took longer for [Dark Shadow] to "receive instructions" from the "brain" controlling it.

' _Okay. I can work with this,'_ Genki said dropping down onto all fours an zipping forward, the teen an oily blur as he shot past [Dark Shadow] towards the bird-headed Tokoyami like an oily bullet.

"Dark Shadow! Return!" Tokoyami called out as he reeled his projection back into his body. Genki's antennae twitching, right as Dark Shadow was about to overtake him, the oily-haired teen leapt up and coiled his arm around the dark "umbilical cord", riding the line towards Tokoyami like a fish on a reel. The suddenness of this maneuver was so-shocking that Tokoyami couldn't raise his arms in time to block the reeled-in flying double-kick aimed at his chest.

Dark Shadow following after his master as he was sent flying, the entity twisted over on itself and aimed to crush his opponent in a massive bear hug, only for Genki to fire his **Goki Thruster** overhead, dropping him to the ground and out of Dark Shadow's clutches as he returned to his master's side.

"Ngh. That speed of his is no joke," Tokoyami winced as he held his chest.

 **"Sorry. I couldn't get a hold of him,"** Dark Shadow whimpered.

"It's alright. The match has only just begun," Tokoyami said getting to his feet. "Wait, where'd be go?"

 **"I don't know. I only took my eyes off him for a second!"** Dark Shadow said as he looked around.

The sound of something dropping to the ground behind them, Tokoyami and Dark Shadow alike whirled around, a blur of oily hair in the corner of their eyes all the warning hey had before Genki took his feet out from under him in a sweeping low kick, the bird boy laid out on his back while [Dark Shadow] "fell upwards", hitting his head on the ground.

"Huh. Didn't think it's work _that_ well," Genki hummed as he watched Tokoyami roll onto his feet while [Dark Shadow] nursed his head. _'So, this_ isn't _like in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure where what happens to one happens to the other,"_ he hummed, noticing they weren't nursing injuries the other sustained. _'Guess I'll have to hit_ Tokoyami _if I want the KO,'_ he thought, getting low to the ground once again.

"Dark Shadow, you ready?"

" **Hai!"**

"GO!" Tokoyami ordered, [Dark Shadow] lunging forward only for Genki to begin strafing around Tokoyami's right flank.

[Dark Shadow] following his oily-haired target, who proceeded to go faster and faster, before Tokoyami realized what he'd allowed to happen, the "umbilical cord" binding him and [Dark Shadow] together had been firmly wrapped around his midsection, a sudden low-tackle to his ankles sending him and [Dark Shadow] tumbling to the ground in a _literal_ tangle of bodies.

"Urgh… _That's_ never happened before…" Tokoyami grumbled as he tried to recall [Dark Shadow] and untangle himself, only for a weight to drop down onto his chest, a splayed hand placed in front of his face a moment later.

"I believe this is checkmate," Genki said as a honeycombing of vents dilated across his left palm, an ominous hissing sounding from the depths of his arm.

 **"Do your worst. He can take it,"** [Dark Shadow] grumbled from his place underneath Tokoyami.

"I'd rather _not_."

"Then surrender right now or you'll really regret it," Genki stated firmly.

" . . . What if I say _'no'_?" Tokoyami reconsidered.

" . . . **Goki Hiss: Hundred and Thirty Decibel Blast!** " the teen suddenly roared putting his palm even closer to Tokoyami's face. The hissing from his palm soon turning into the loud roar of a jet engine, Tokoyami's back arched as he howled in pain, the aforementioned 130-decibel hissing roar washing over him.

The bird-headed teen's head whipping about as he tried to escape, his body flailing as Genki tried to keep him pinned to the ground, the moment it looked like [Dark Shadow] was about to escape, Genki turned his honeycombed palm on [Dark Shadow] before clocking Tokoyami across the face with his free hand, his screaming dying out as his head lolled back.

Genki letting out a ragged gasp as he forced away the blackness encroaching on his vision, while [Dark Shadow] whimpered, Midnight came up to them and checked Tokoyami for a pulse before reaching her verdict.

"Fumikage is unable to battle! Gokiburi Genki moves on to the semifinal round!" Midnight announced, the audience exploding into cheers as the underdog won once again, going further and higher than any General Course student before him.

"And with that, the quarterfinal round is over, and our final four have been selected!" Present Mic announced as Tokoyami was carted off. "You all know the drill, people! We'll have a brief intermission, and then start the semifinal round once our four fighters have had the chance to rest up! And for those of you at home, STAY TUNED!"

 _ ***MHA***_

 **AN:  
A little ominous foreshadowing at the start, capped off with another of Genki's fights.**

 **As for what comes** _ **next**_ **for Genki, I think** _ **that**_ **will actually be more-exciting than the final round.**

 **Or at least more fun to write.**

 **GO BEYOND!**

 **EXCELSIOR!**


	9. Battle Tournament: Seminfinal Round

"Both of these competitors come from renowned hero families! It's a fight between elites! Iida Tenya versus Todoroki Shoto!" Present Mic announced as the user of [Engine] and the dual-wielder of [Subzero] and [Hellflame] stepped into the ring. Iida himself looked pumped, but Todoroki had a far-off look in his eye like he was thinking about something else.

"Semifinal first round! START!"

Todoroki stomping his right foot forward and sending a sheet of ice sailing towards Iida, to everyone's amazement, Iida circumvented the instant-obstacle completely with a standing _long_ jump of all things. Iida transitioning into his **Recipro Burst** mid-flight and sweeping out with his leg, Todoroki scarcely dodged getting his head taken off, only for Iida to transition that sweeping right kick into an overhead attack that slammed Todoroki to the ground. The moment Todoroki recovered, Iida had already grabbed him by the back of his shirt, hauling ass toward the out-of-bounds before his ultimate move crapped out.

Halfway there however, all of Iida's momentum died out as his [Engine] stalled, a caking of ice stopping up the mufflers on his left leg. The momentary surprise that followed was all Todoroki needed to get his feet back under him, freezing Iida from the feet up, his left arm following for good measure. Frozen up to his neck, Iida could only struggle in vain while Todoroki shook off that hit he'd taken.

"Well… _That_ ended quickly," Shinso hummed as Midnight announced her verdict. "So…" the indigo-haired teen hummed as he regarded the man from earlier who'd taken Genki's seat after the teen had wandered off to the waiting room. "You're Genki's father?"

The massive man inclined his head towards Shinso, nodding his head with a neutral expression on his face.

"He's a man of very few words," Oki clarified.

"Yeah, I noticed," Shinso hummed. "So… I hear you're a retired Hero. What do you do for a living _now_?"

In the time they'd known one another, he and Genki didn't really bring their home lives onto school grounds, so this was obviously Shinso's first time meeting them. He'd never seen any _pictures_ of them or anything, just their names and that he'd taken after his mother.

On one side you had the youthful Gokiburi Oki on the "softcore" end of the Mutant-Type spectrum. On the other end of said spectrum was Gokiburi Ares, sitting firmly in the "hardcore" part of the Mutant-Type spectrum. Sure, the guy looked big standing next to Endeavor, but up-close and personal… The guy felt larger-than-life.

Ares glancing over at Shinso, when it became obvious he wasn't in the mood to talk, Oki took that cue to step in for her husband.

"After my husband retired from being a Pro Hero, he pulled some strings with United Studios thanks to the work he did for them and started a talent agency," Oki began. "In the event we lack the expertise to manage any talent that wants to sign on with us, we reroute them to a reputable manager in our network of associates, and vice versa," she explained, Ares reaching into his suit and handing Shinso an immaculate business card with practiced mechanical efficiency.

"God of War: Ares Idol Agency…" Shinso read aloud as he gave the card a once-over.

The card itself was chalk-white, regulation-sized. On the left side of the card was a sunflower logo with multi-colored petals, the letters **G.O.W.** printed in white over the black center of the sunflower. The full name of the talent agency set in the middle of the card in addition to contact information, revealed that the main building was located in Akihabara, which even in the twenty-third century was still considered an otaku cultural center, still remaining as the most-renowned shopping district for video games, anime, manga, and computer goods in addition to maid cafes and idol groups.

On the side, Shinso wondered how the giant of a man could handle such a small piece of paper with such thick fingers.

' _Seriously, he looks like he could crush_ watermelons _with those things,'_ Shinso thought glancing at the man's hands before turning his attention back to the card. "So _that's_ what he meant by 'an army of Onee-samas'," he hummed. Idols _did_ tend to be female.

It hadn't really come up between them whether or not they were only children, so after hearing that little tidbit earlier, he'd briefly assumed Genki was the only boy amongst an army of female siblings who loved to embarrass the living daylights out of him.

Putting those thoughts to the side, Shinso turned his attention back to the present.

"So… You think he's going to win?"

In turn, Ares inclined his head towards Shinso, the massive man raising up an equally massive arm and giving him a thumbs up.

"That… tells me absolutely nothing," Shinso deadpanned.

When Genki said his father was a man of few words, he wasn't _joking_.

 _ ***MHA***_

Elsewhere…

"Oh man! Iida was so _close_!" Ochako whined.

"Yeah, for a second there I thought he'd _synched_ this thing," Kyoka admitted.

"The next fight's between Bakugou and that General Course student. Think he stands a chance?" Ojiro asked.

"No way! Have you _seen_ what Bakugou's capable of?" Kirishima asked. " _I_ have, first-hand, and there's no _way_ Gokiburi can top _that_!"

"But isn't that exactly the sort of mentality that allowed him to elude defeat against _all_ of us?" Momo questioned aloud, the others wilting slightly. Without realizing it, they'd completely underestimated the oily-haired teen, and by the time they started taking him seriously, it'd already been too late to do anything about it.

Mineta, Mina, Tokoyami and Momo by-extension had all been beaten by him, and because the _specifics_ of his Quirk had been hidden while Mineta had given him the down-low on _theirs_ , none of those he'd fought directly had been able to create a countermeasure.

Speaking of which…

"Um… Izuku…?" Ochako asked as she nudged the boy in the shoulder, eyes going wide as she beheld the incredibly-detailed profile and compilation of research notes into what Genki's Quirk could be, numerous what-ifs scratched out as he continued to narrow it down.

Even though his arms were still busted up from surgery, he was still able to pour over the notes he'd already made.

"Come on, Izuku. Think. _Thiiiiink_ …" the green-haired teen muttered to himself as he dove down into his own little world. "Gokiburi-san has been showing off his Quirk almost non-stop since the Obstacle Course Race. You should have everything you need to know to figure out what his Quirk is all in your notes."

The world around him fading out of focus, within his mind's eye was a world of pure white and blue, a single streak of red flying ever-further into the distance.

 **Cue Phoenix Wright Dual Destinies OST – Synaptic Resonance**

"Okay, best place to start is from the beginning. What was his most-prominent attribute shown during the Obstacle Course Race?"

 **Speed? – Strength? – Durability?**

Three mental blocks appearing in front of him, Izuku's train of thought broke through the correct answer like a pane of glass, the streak of red shooting off into the distance before more mental blocks barred his progress.

 **Speed!**

"That's right. Of all the attributes he displayed, it was his _speed_ that was paramount in his victory. That narrows down what _breed_ of Mutant-Type Quirk he is quite a bit."

Thinking ahead to the Cavalry Battle, the next question immediately came to mind.

"Beyond his speed, what defense mechanism connected to his Quirk's ancestry did he display?"

 **Flight? – Armor? – Oil?**

Like before, three mental blocks appeared before him, and like before, his train of thought broke through the correct answer like a pane of glass, the streak of red shooting off into the distance before even more mental blocks barred his progress.

 **Oil!**

"Gokiburi's Quirk let him secrete a near-translucent oil that served as a lubricant. Not many insects have secretions of that nature. The sheer _volume_ can be accredited to him having the _proportionate_ ability of whatever insect his Quirk is based upon."

The next clue laid in Genki's _physical_ attributes. Oily hair and antennae notwithstanding, the only major physical deviation from the baseline human form were the shiny dark-brown elytron that shielded his wings. That in of itself normally wouldn't be enough to narrow his Mutant archetype down since his mother was also a "Softcore Mutant-Type". However, after looking down into the stands and spotting the oily-haired mother and son joined by the family patriarch, an old memory, one from five years ago he hadn't thought about in a long time, was jostled loose.

"The odds that that man down there being Genki's father is incredibly high. Now, where was it that I'd seen his face before?"

 **A Body Builder? - A Retired Hero? - A Pro Athlete?  
**

Delving deep into his memories, Izuku racked his brain for the memories of every hero video, interview, poster, and paraphernalia he'd ever laid eyes upon as a kid. The man's build, size, and expression, or rather, a _lack_ thereof, jostled the old memory completely free once he looked down into the stands and laid eyes on him once more.

 **A Retired Hero!**

"That's it!"

 **The answer  
is in  
his genealogy.**

 **End OST**

"I know what his Quirk is!" Izuku shouted as the last of the pieces fell into place.

"Holy crap, you figured it out?" Kirishima gawped.

"Well don't leave us in suspense! _Tell_ us!" Mina begged.

"I have to tell Kacchan! I have to warn him!" Izuku said running off after his old friend.

"Wait, _warn_ him!?" everyone gawped.

 _ ***MHA***_

With Todoroki moving on to the final round, Bakugou only had two obstacles remaining between him and his ambition. That kid from the General Course, and then Todoroki himself.

As Bakugou made his way down to the arena, plans of stomping that General Course student under his heel forming in his mind, a hurrying of footsteps met his ears. Choosing to ignore it, the task became more and more difficult as the footsteps drew nearer, an irritating cry of- "Kacchan!" –meeting his ears repeatedly until finally-

"WHAT, DEKU?! CAN'T YOU SEE I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING!?" Bakugou demanded as the green-haired nerd ground to a halt in front of him.

"K-Kacchan, listen to me!" Izuku stammered as he cradled his notebook in his busted-up arms. "I figured it out! I know what kind of Mutant his Quirk makes him! If you listen to my plan, I think you can _beat_ him-UWAH!" he then cried as Bakugou rounded on him, a furious snarl on his features as explosions peppered his palms.

"WHAT WAS THAT?! YOU THINK I CAN'T WIN WITHOUT YOUR STUPID PLAN!?"

"N-No, I didn't s-s-say that! I just think your chances w-will _improve_ if-"

"PISS OFF! I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP! I'M STOMPING THAT GUY INTO THE GROUND, AND THEN, TODOROKI'S NEXT!" the explosive teen raged, completely rebuking any contributions Izuku could've made as he stormed off, angrier than he'd been all day.

 _ ***MHA***_

"In the red corner we have the guy you love to hate! Class 1-A's own ticking time bomb, Bakugou Katsuki, versus… Who ever thought he'd make it this far? The dark horse of the General Course, it's Gokiburi Genki!" Present Mic whooped, Gokiburi's growing fanbase making their approval known as the downtrodden and the drop-outs cheered louder than anyone else.

"Semifinal second round! START!"

"Hey Bakugou," Genki spoke up. "One thing before we start."

"What?" the blond asked gruffly.

" . . . _I'm_ gonna win," Genki said with a tilt of his head and a cocky smile.

Instead of a murderous uproar being kicked up however, it was instead a hushed _silence_ that spread across the arena.

" . . . OHHH _SNAP_!" someone in the audience said a hushed minute later.

"What… did you just _say_!?" Bakugou growled as angry red sparks popped in his palms, an angry vein pulsing in his forehead as his own words from before were thrown back in his face. In the semifinal round of the _Sports Festival_ of all places.

"You heard me. The one who's going to win this fight, is _me_!" Genki said with an infuriating smile as he thumbed his chest. "I beat you in the Obstacle Course Race, and the Cavalry Battle after that. Way I see it, since I've been kicking your ass all day… I might as well make it three for three," he said with raised fingers as his eyes crinkled. "What ya gonna do about it?"

"You… I'm gonna SQUASH YOU LIKE THE _BUG_ YOU ARE?!" Bakugou raged, a murderous rage pouring off of him like when Monoma stole his headband.

"And _I'm_ going to mail my shoe to the principal. And the gift-wrapping? It's gonna be YOUR _ASS_!"

"Whoa! Things are heating up and no-one's even thrown a _punch_ yet!" Present Mic whooped.

"This will _definitely_ be a fight to remember," Aizawa hummed.

 **Cue My Hero Academia OST - The Threat of Offense and Defense**

"DIE!" Bakugou raged as he stormed towards Genki, palms peppered with explosions as his nitroglycerin-laced sweat oxidized.

"Heads up!" Genki said peeling his shirt off his body as he shot forward, throwing it into Bakugou's face before they clashed.

"DIE!" Bakugou roared as he thrust out his hand and blasted the cloth to smithereens, his opponent nowhere in sight. A shadow flickering across his vision a moment later, Bakugou looked up in time to see Genki fluttering in the air above him, the oily-haired teen grabbing his extended wrist and hauling himself downward with a declaration of- " **Goki KNEE!** "

 _ ***SPLACK!***_ went Bakugou's nose as the falling knee strike was driven into his visage, followed by a falling one-two kick to his chest that threw him to the ground.

"Man, you must _really_ suck at this. Are you _sure_ you scored the highest in the Entrance Exam?" Genki asked as he hopped away, bouncing on his feet with his fists raised, ready to move at a moment's notice.

"That was just a lucky shot…!" Bakugou growled as he snapped his nose back into place and shot out a glob of bloody phlegm.

"A lucky shot that got me _first blood_ ," Genki said with a cocky smile.

"Cocky bastard…!"

"It isn't cocky if I get _results_ , now _is_ it, _Baka_ -gou?"

Several more veins throbbing in his head, Bakugou's face was soon split into a Glasgow grin as he threw his right arm forward, bracing it with his left.

"Let's see you try and dodge _this_!" he growled as veins angrily throbbed up his arm, a staccato of explosions peppering his palm as he squared his feet.

"Holy crap! Is he doing what I _think_ he's doing?!" Present Mic yelped.

"All of you behind Genki, GET DOWN!" Aizawa shouted, Cementoss raising as many walls between the stage and the audience as he possibly could.

"I won't let you!" Genki said dropping into a runner's stance, his wings raised up as numerous pores across his back and his legs dilated. " **GOKI BUUUURST!** " he roared as he shot forward with the roar of a jet engine.

"DIIIIIIIIE!" Bakugou roared as an explosion comparable to the one he used against Ochako's clutch move spilled out of his palm.

The deafening _***KA-BOOOOOOM!***_ of Nitroglycerin going off shaking the air, an enormous cone of destruction exploded in front of his palm, a massive trench dug into the stage. The massive blast tearing into Cementoss' concrete walls, the hastily-made structures barely held together as the spectators in harm's way fled for their lives, all others dumbed into hushed silence. Smoke and debris raining down onto the half of the stage he'd utterly _annihilated_ , Bakugou let out ragged breaths, a shit-eating grin on his face as he beheld the destruction in front of him.

"That'll teach you to screw with me… you fucking _insect_ …" he said proudly, utterly assured of his victory.

"That's the thing about insects," a familiar voice said from behind him, the blond's eyes going wide as he stood frozen in shock. "Sometimes, we really _bite_!"

 _ ***SQUELCH***_

"GAAAAAAAH!" Bakugou roared as teeth suddenly sank into his left shoulder. Bringing his right arm around and blasting past his ear, at the last moment his attacker zipped out of the way, the blond whirling around to the oily shadow. "You…? How the hell are you still alive!?" he demanded. "That blast should've turned… INTO A FUCKING _GREASE STAIN_!"

Aside from a few lacerations on his chest and arms, his opponent was completely unharmed.

"For a second there… I almost was…" Genki panted raggedly, spitting blood from his mouth. "If I didn't take notes from Iida-senpai's fight, I might not've been able to accelerate fast enough to slip around the cone of your explosion," he said hiding the hitch in his shoulders as the vents across his back and legs throbbed angrily, the teen light-headed after emptying out nearly every gasp of air from his body.

"Heh. Looks like I didn't _totally_ miss. You're bleeding all _over_ the place!" Bakugou said with a self-assured grin, feeling victory still within his grasp.

"What, you mean _this_?" Genki asked running his fingers across his teeth, his fingertips coming back red. " _Clearly_ , someone here has a short memory, and spoiler warning… It isn't me."

"That's right, you… You fucking _bit_ me!" Bakugou growled as his hand went to his shoulder, rivulets of blood running down his arm.

"It's no worse than what would've happened to the _audience_ if Cementoss-sensei hadn't stepped in," Genki growled distastefully as he rose to full height, the vents across his back contracting while he drew in as much air as his spiracles would allow.

"Bakugou! One more attack of that magnitude aimed towards the audience and you'll be _disqualified_!" Midnight announced the moment no casualties were confirmed.

"Tch! Fine. I don't _need_ my big guns. It's not the _size_ of the weapon, it's how you _use_ it," Bakugou said with a self-satisfied smirk as his palms became alight with peppered explosions.

' _Yeah… That's right… Keep that adrenaline pumping you smarmy bastard,'_ Genki thought with a grin as he glanced at Bakugou's reddening shirt. _'You've already painted yourself into a corner, you just don't know it yet.'_

"Bring it on you oily bastard!" Bakugou grinned as he launched himself like a bullet. Genki aiming a punch at Bakugou's smug grin, the explosive teen fired a blast beneath himself before grabbing onto his opponent's hair and shoulder. Before he could throw him however, his hands slipped off, coming away oily. The blond's eyes going wide, he soon found _himself_ being grabbed, his own momentum being used to brutally slam him back-first into the ground with a loud _***WHACK!***_

"News flash. I can change direction in mid-air _too_. You're not the _only_ one that knows that trick."

"SHUT IT!" Bakugou growled as he palmed the ground above his head and fired a cone of shrapnel, his opponent zipping out of range at the last moment.

"Hey, keep the collateral damage to a minimum. Cementoss-sensei worked very _hard_ to make this stage."

"DO YOU EVER STOP TALKING?!" Bakugou raged as he lunged and tried to blast him again.

"Hey, I could say the same about you. But I won't," Genki said as he dodged effortlessly, the teen an oily blur as he zipped away from Bakugou faster than he could close the gap.

After a few minutes, it soon became obvious that Genki was trying to tire out his opponent, since for all of aforementioned minutes all he did was verbally insult his opponent until he attacked, dodge out of the way like an oily blur, before repeating the cycle. With each successive heckle and dodge, another vein would angrily throb in the explosive teen's head, his ire rising to untold heights as his attempts to "squash" the General Course student time and time again met with failure. Not only that, but the adrenaline pumping through him caused the bleeding of his shoulder to fall into the back of his mind.

"Man, you are _out_ of shape. Really outta do some cardio," Genki taunted as Bakugou panted raggedly, the explosive teen gasping at air while Genki wasn't even winded.

"You… What the hell did you do to me? Why won't my shoulder stop bleeding?!" Bakugou growled as his hand went to his shoulder, his fingers starting to get cold.

"Pop quiz: What does the saliva of a komodo dragon and a cockroach have in common?"

"Nothing! One's a lizard and the other's a _bug_! Why would their spit have _any_ _thing_ in common?!"

"Wow, even when I spell it _out_ for you you're dense…" Genki groaned. "Have you _always_ been this stupid, or did you get high on your own _supply_ as a kid?"

At this, some of 1-A chuckled at the thought of a prepubescent Bakugou huffing nitroglycerin fumes like others huffed paint.

"You know…" Bakugou growled, his brow twitching before a somewhat _worrying_ smile tugged at his lips. "I was saving this for Todoroki… but after that last remark… I think you'll make an excellent _training_ dummy!"

Blasting himself into the air at full blast, a manic grin on his face, Bakugou soared well above the out-of-bound line before he shot himself back at his opponent. Rapidly firing off explosions at his sides, Bakugou began spinning in a corkscrew, summoning a cone of acrid gray smoke as he screamed through the air like a falling bomb. His momentum building as his explosions grew more and more ferocious, the teen let out a cry of-

" **HOWITZERRRRR-** "

" **-CANNON!** " Genki roared thrusting both arms forward in the middle of Bakugou's clutch move.

Oil and Nitroglycerin meeting in the middle with a brilliant splash, to everyone's shock, Bakugou's ultimate attack was _nullified_ , the blond's eyes going wide as he began to tumble through the air haplessly, suddenly bereft of propulsion as his explosions were extinguished.

" **Gokiiiii…** " Genki intoned as a jet of compressed air spilled out the back of his elbow. " **GUT PUNCH!** " he roared as he drove his bruised and battered right arm into Bakugou's stomach, the teen folded almost-in-half before his momentum carried him into the half of the stage he'd destroyed minutes before.

"Holy crap! Is Bakugou still _alive_? What the heck happened?!" Present Mic gawped as all of Bakugou's buildup suddenly stalled worse than Iida's [Engine] after _his_ ultimate move.

For a minute it seemed like Genki had won via KO, but suddenly Bakugou's inert body let out a ragged cough, blood and spittle spattering across ruined concrete as he shakily got onto his hands and knees, a thick, viscous slathering of oil mixed with smoke and debris clinging to his form as he forced himself to his feet.

"Holy cow, he _is_ still alive!"

"Whatever it was Bakugou was about to do, it's good to know Genki had the foresight to _interrupt_ it," Aizawa hummed aloud, both opponents panting and wheezing heavily.

"You know… That's the problem with ultimate moves…" Genki panted, his arms throbbing painfully as he gulped in as much air as his body would allow. "If you don't get to the fucking _point_ … anyone with enough brain cells to rub together can cut you off…"

"Slimy bastard…" Bakugou growled as he got to his feet, scooping the thick slather of oil coating his face off with a wet _***splat***_ as it hit the ground. Raising his palms menacingly, after a couple moments Bakugou's eye widened. "What the hell…? Why won't my Quirk work?!" he demanded as he shook his hands, attempting to detonate his sweat to no avail.

"Not even knowing your own weakness… How arrogant can you _be_!?" Genki roared as he rushed forward and struck Bakugou in the nose with a straight left, the blond's head whipping back before he braced himself and drove his palm into Genki's exposed side, only for his Quirk to once-again abandon him.

' _My weakness…? Wait a minute…!'_ Bakugou thought as he glanced at his palm, at the secretions not his own coating his skin.

"Looks like the final horse crossed the finish line," Genki said with a smirk as he suddenly grasped Bakugou's palm, their fingers interlaced before he grabbed onto the other. "Too bad it won't do you any good!"

The bug-like teen tightening his grip, Bakugou winced as Genki's fingers dug mercilessly into the gaps between his metacarpals. The oily-haired teen bending the blond's hands back at the wrists, the pain in his hands on top of the weakening of his body from his shoulder wound caused Bakugou to fall to a knee. Rivulets of oil pouring down Bakugou's arms as Genki's [Oilpiration] got to work, the teen suddenly felt his fingers going numb for a _different_ reason.

Gritting his teeth, Bakugou dug his toes into the ground behind him and tried to rise up, only for Genki to put a foot to his chest and roll onto his back before kicking him off, turning his own momentum against him once more.

"Geez… Recovery Girl's going to throw a _fit_ when she sees me like this," Genki groaned as he looked down at his bruised-and-battered arms, then toward his opponent as he shakily got back to his feet.

"You bastard…!" Bakugou growled as he reached down to wipe his palms on his pants, only to be met with oil-soaked cloth. "Are you KIDDING ME!?" he raged, seeing his clothes completely soaked.

"Wow. Guess my **Double Oil Cannon** was super-effective," Genki chuckled heartily, raising Bakugou's ire as the teen laughed "at him". "By the way, the nickname that Midoriya kid called, you, 'Kacchan'. Sounds _cute_. Like a _mascot character_."

"You bastard! DON'T YOU MOCK ME!" Bakugou raged as he rushed forward, right fist drawn back before lunging at his opponent's smug grin.

"So tell me… Do you even _know_ any other nouns, or is that all you've got?" Genki asked as he dodged Bakugou's punches with ease, the blond's ire raising with every provocation as he continued to hit only air.

"BASTAAAAARD!"

"I'll take that as a 'no'," Genki chuckled before he whipped his right arm back, his spiracles dilating as his arm inflated slightly. " **Goki Lariat!** " he shouted as he delivered a jet-propelled lariat to Bakugou's exposed neck, the blond wheezing as he was thrown end-over-end, flipping through the air before landing flat on his back. " **Goki Curb Stomp**!"

"GUHAH!" Bakugou retched as a jet-propelled stomp was delivered to his exposed gut, knocking the wind and copious spittle out of him.

"So, flat on your back with another man beating your ass. Is it Wednesday _already_?" Genki taunted before a shaky hand grabbed his ankle, splayed fingers raised up at him.

"Thanks… For letting your guard down-"

"Down low."

 _ ***Slap***_

"Are you _kidding_ me!?" Bakugou cried as Genki's oily palm slapped his _just-dried_ palm in a low-five.

"You know, when your rage button's pressed, you really _suck_ at this," Genki said grabbing the raised appendage before hauling Bakugou up into a downward punch, blood exploding out of his nose from the hit. "Are you _sure_ you got the highest score in the Entrance Exam? It sure doesn't _seem_ like it."

"Don't you mock me… you Hero Course _reject_ …"

 **End OST**

" . . . I'm going to enjoy this," Genki said with a completely flat expression after several seconds. "I'm going to enjoy this _far_ more than I should."

"WHOA! Viewer warning! The following scenes contain blood and gratuitous acts of violence committed against a minor by another minor! Viewer discretion is advised!" Present Mic yelped as Genki suddenly pinned Bakugou's arms to the ground with his knees and began punching him repeatedly in the face, the ground at the blond's shoulder stained red as he continued to bleed out.

"Give up."

 _ ***WHACK***_

"No…"

 _ ***WHACK***_

"Give up!"

 _ ***WHACK***_

"No!"

 _ ***WHACK***_

"GIVE UP!"

 _ ***WHACK***_

"NOOOOOOO!"

 _ ***WHACK***_

"Man, I have no idea what Gokiburi did, but Bakugou's completely _helpless_ down there, isn't he?" Present Mic asked as Bakugou continued being punched repeatedly in the face.

"So it would seem," Aizawa hummed. _'This boy… Until the Sports Festival he'd never seen Bakugou's Quirk in action, yet he was able to parse together that inhibiting his sweat's ability to oxidize was his ultimate weakness in such a small amount of time…'_ he mused as he watched Bakugou attempt time and time again to detonate his nitroglycerin secretions, only for a fresh spattering of oil on his palms to knock him back down to square one. _'Looks like_ someone _did their homework before this match.'_

As the one-sided beating and continued refusal to surrender continued, Aizawa noticed something _else_ about the way the fight was going.

' _Hmmm… Given who Gokiburi's parents are and how their Quirks blended together… it only makes sense that with this much exposure to his [Oilperation] sub-Quirk, something like this would happen,'_ Aizawa hummed as Bakugou's flailing arms grew weaker and weaker with each subsequent exposure to the oily-haired teen's sub-Quirk.

"Hey, Midnight. I'm pretty sure this guy's on his last legs. Can you call the match so I can go to the finals?" Genki asked a couple minutes later. "That is a _lot_ of blood on the ground," he said looking at the area around Bakugou's shoulder.

"Don't you… dare… you fucking… _bitch_ …" Bakugou slurred light-headedly, his arms numbing over.

"Okay, _first_ off!" Genki said as he stood up. "That is _not_ how you talk to a lady! _Secondly_ …" he said ominously as he raised his foot. "Looks like _this_ bug… stepped on _you_!"

The last thing Bakugou saw of that match was the bottom of Genki's shoe.

Like a cut-to-black transition.

"Bakugou Katsuki is unable to battle! The winner is Gokiburi Genki!" Midnight announced after making sure the explosive teen wasn't _dead_ or anything.

With the way all that blood was pouring out of his face and shoulder, it almost looked like he _could_ be.

"What an upset! Gokiburi Genki of the General Course moves on to the final round!" Present Mic whooped excitedly as the medic bots loaded Bakugou onto a stretcher. "Can you believe it? If I weren't seeing it myself, _I_ sure wouldn't!"

"Indeed. While it isn't really _my_ decision to make… I think Gokiburi has a real shot of making it into the Hero Course," Aizawa hummed noncommittally, the audience exploding into rancorous cheers.

 _ ***MHA***_

"Holy crap, Bakugou _too_?" Kirishima gawped as Genki moved on to _the_ final round.

"It's like this guy's _unstoppable_!" Mina whined from her first-hand experience.

"At least _Bakugou_ didn't blow all his clothes off," Tsuyu chuckled, Mineta wilting at the memory while Mina blushed bright red.

"I told you guys that was an _accident_!" Mina cried, redder in the face than her usual lightish-red complexion.

"But still, how did Genki know Bakugou's _weakness_ like that?" Kaminari asked.

"Yyyyyeeeeeesss…" a familiar, irksome voice said dramatically. "How _indeed_ did he find out how _Baka_ -gou's Quirk worked and what its ultimate _weakness_ was?" said voice said as they continued to troll them.

"Monoma!?" Sero gaped at the familiar blond poking his head over the divider between theirs and 1-B's class. The blond with the ability to _copy_ Quirks. " _You_ told him how Bakugou's Quirk worked?!"

" _Why_!?" Mina asked.

"Why indeed?" Monoma asked. "Why indeeeeeeed?"

 _ ***Whap***_

"To be absolutely blunt, Genki _did_ come up to us and ask before the beginning of his match," Itsuka said poking her head up.

 _ ***FLASHBACK***_

 _ **The moment the quarterfinal rounds had been completed, Monoma Neito had been ushered out of the 1-B spectator box by a hushed tone and a beckoning hand. The blond Quirk-copier stepping out into the hall, he and the members of 1-B that went with him just-in-case this was the makings of a Villain attack, were all shocked to see the recent match-winner standing there.**_

 _ **"** **Gokiburi Genki?" Monoma asked with a raised brow.**_

 _ **"** **The heck are**_ **you** _ **doing here?!" Tetsutetsu demanded angrily.**_

 _ **"** **Can you keep a lid on it? I don't want 1-A to catch on," Genki shushed.**_

 _ **"** **Catch on to**_ **what** _ **?" Itsuka asked.**_

 _ **"** **Monoma-senpai…" Genki addressed formally, the blond's brow quirking from both the flattering honorific, and the fact that Genki dropped down to his knees to boot. "You know more about Bakugou Katsuki's Quirk than anyone else in 1-A still willing to talk to me. If I'm going to beat him in the semifinal round, if I'm going to have**_ **any** _ **chance of beating him, I need every edge I can get, so please…" he said placing his hands on the ground and deeply bowing his head. "Please, tell me everything you know about his Quirk. Tell me everything you know so I can**_ **beat** _ **him."**_

 _ **"** **Why do you want to beat him so-badly you'd bow your head to me?" Monoma asked, relishing the fact that someone with such an amazing Quirk that had gotten so far into the Sports Festival was prostrating themselves before**_ **him** _ **.**_

 _ **"** **Because… He's a**_ **prick** _ **."**_

 _ **"**_ _**. . . Well when you put it like**_ **that** _ **, how could I**_ **possibly** _ **say no?" Monoma said with a face-splitting grin.**_

 _ ***FLASHBACK END***_

"And that's what happened," Itsuka summarized.

"Wait, I thought you _hated_ Genki after what he did to Shiozaki. Why would you possibly _want_ to help him?" Kaminari asked.

"Because Genki did no different than I would have had our roles were reversed," Itsuka spoke up. "Genki aspires to be a great Hero like all of us, but in order to reach that plateau, he needs to win and win and win until the Yuuei faculty acknowledges they won't be wasting their time promoting him into the Hero Course. While it is true that initially I was quite wary of him, now that we've had the chance to cool our heads, I now realize that my previous animosity towards him was wholly unfounded," the [Vines]-user said in an angelic tone.

"And if _Ibara_ saw fit to forgive him, there really wasn't any reason _we_ couldn't either," Itsuka hummed.

"And besides, it's so much _fun_ watching him walk all over you. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Monoma spoke up the moment he recovered, only to get chopped on the back of the neck a second time.

"Anyway, there's only one match left, and Todoroki's Quirk isn't as nuanced as Bakuguo's, but even if he loses _that_ fight, I still like to think he has a really good shot at making it into the Hero Course," Itsuka said with a soft smile.

Even though she lost to him in the Cavalry Battle, she could still appreciate all the time and effort he put into his Quirk to make it that far.

"And with how-much he's been kicking all your butts, it might be one of _you_ on the chopping block! Hahaha! HAAA HAHA HAHAHAA!"

 _ ***Whap***_

"Geez, it's like this guy's developing an _immunity_ ," Itsuka said chopping Monoma once again.

"So wait, what _is_ Gokiburi's Quirk then?" Kirishima asked. "Midoriya, you said you figured it out before the match, right?"

"Well, _yes_ , but, given the answer's been staring us in the _face_ the entire time, I'm a little embarrassed to admit it took me this-long to figure out," Izuku said bashfully.

"…What do you mean?" Kirishima asked.

"He means it's _literally_ in his family name," Kyoka huffed.

" . . . Holy crap you're _right_!" those not in the know collectively gawped.

"Still, that doesn't explain what happened to Ibara during the Cavalry Battle," Itsuka hummed.

"Well, actually, cockroach saliva contains cellulose-destroying enzymes," Izuku spoke up. "Since that's what Shiozaki's [Vines] are _made of_ , and she's connected to them through her sensory system, it actually makes a great deal of sense she'd react like she were getting an acid bath."

"How do you know something random like _that_?" Mineta asked.

"Animal Planet."

"Ohhhhhh…" the rest of 1-A hummed, nodding in understanding.

"The sheer majesty of the animal kingdom _is_ a source of tremendous power," Tokoyami stated somberly, his Chuuni tendencies bleeding through.

 _ ***MHA***_

 **AN:  
My Beta (Spaceman) and I **_**really**_ **refined how Bakugou and Gokiburi's Quirks would work against one another in a 1v1 setting, and since Bakugou "runs hot" with wide-open pores to secrete his Nitroglycerin, this just seemed the most-natural way for the fight to end when Genki had the low-down on just HOW Bakugou's Quirk worked. He doesn't _magically_ secrete Nitroglycerin from his palms, there's a _biological_ factor to them as well.**

 **Additionally, even if Genki's toxic oil** _ **couldn't**_ **infiltrate his body through his pores (and interfere with his nerve endings), Bakugou's nitroglycerin sweat only works when it OXIDIZES, and smoothing ANYTHING with Oil helps prevent just-that from happening. If you've ever opened up a car engine and taken it apart, you'll see channels allowing oil to slide over any moving parts like the camshaft or the valves.**

 **And yes, cockroach saliva contains anticoagulants. We've done our research.  
**

 **Or at least built-upon what was already done by Murata Shinya, additionally the writer of** **Caterpillar** **and** **Killing Bites** **on top of Arachnid** **.**

 **Anyway, this fight with Bakugou where he fought someone from a Hero background other than Todoroki was really fun to write. Especially since he was going up against a Mutant-Type Quirk instead of an Emitter, which operates under _way_ different rules when you write fight choreography, so I hope you'll leave lots of Comments in the Review section.**

 **GO BEYOND!**

 **EXCELSIOR!**


	10. Battle Tournament: Final Round

**ILL (Guest):** Ill:So... Anime-like..!  
Well, Gokiburi's family screams 'Terraformars!', at least to me.  
So if Aizawa said that Gokiburi's Quirk is a perfect blend of his parents, what sub-Quirk did hhis mother's Quirk conceived him?  
Will he be able to regenerate from crippling wounds? And survive from disasters that most living creature usually perish? Like a Cockroach...  
Imagine a gaping wound in his torso that looks absolutely disastrous, but he is still alive!  
Thanks for the chapter

 **NeoNazo356:** Oki said that Genki takes after his father "under the hood", so his Base Stats will at least be comparable to his father's when he's fully grown, but he "takes after his mother" on the _outside_ so it'll be easier for him to be a Popular Hero. From his mother he received the sub-Quirks [Oilpiration] and [Air Pressure Sensing], while from his father, he has the _potential_ to grow- _into_ the power of a Terraformar. However, because he's led an ordinary civilian lifestyle up until now, his upper limits haven't been "stress tested" like you'd see in Terra Formars, or even in My Hero Academia where more- _rigorous_ forms of Quirk Reinforcement occur.  
Also, most of Genki's character inspiration comes from Arachnid and Caterpillar, but his influences from Terra Formars are largely secondary. I _do_ intend to read through Terra Formars because the anime is so badly-censored its borderline unwatchable.

 _ ***MHA***_

The semifinal round drawing to a close, the excitement in the air was almost palpable.

On one side you had the son of the No.2 Hero, a boy whose [Subzero] Quirk could be considered "real-life OP", his OP status even further cemented by the fact that he possessed his father's [Hellflame] Quirk too. On the other, a General Course student whose anonymity swiftly turned to explosive fame as he clawed his way to the top of the Sports Festival, one event after the other, mowing down all obstacles in his path.

His recent victory over the student who'd earned the highest score at the Yuuei Entrance Exam propelled him even further, quite a few Pro Heroes contemplating taking him on as an _apprentice_ if Yuuei was foolish enough _not_ to let him into the Hero Course even after all he'd done.

Of course, since a fight between two elite students who'd exhausted themselves in their previous bouts wouldn't be any fun to watch, the two students were given a half-hour reprieve to fully rest themselves; pending more rest being required so a _satisfying_ match could be held.

The Yuuei Sports Festival nearing its conclusion, at least for the first-years, those in the second year wondered how they'd be able to _top_ this, since being upstaged by their juniors could seriously damage their brand.

 _ ***MHA***_

"So… When you guys woke up this morning, did any of you think you'd get your butts kicked this badly?" Kirishima asked.

"No. I think I can safely say _none_ of us saw this coming," Shoji said looking up at the tournament bracket, tracing the highlighted lines all the way from the preliminary to the final round.

"Still, though, I've been doing some research during the intermission, and I think I can understand why Gokiburi was able to elude defeat so many times," Momo said looking at her phone. "Cockroaches can squeeze through a crevice as small as quarter of their body height in less than a second. Cockroaches can run at top speeds of up to fifty body lengths per second, equivalent to a human running two-hundred miles an hour, and only the tightest spaces can slow them down. Cockroaches can withstand forces more than nine-hundred times their body weight without sustaining injury," she read aloud as the video played. "To think a Mutant-Type Quirk could allow for so many adaptations and defense mechanisms built into a single body."

" _I_ could take him," Tsuyu hummed.

"Yeah, _you'd_ say that," Mineta huffed flatly.

"That's racist."

"How is that _racist_?!"

"Still… Fifty body lengths per second… No _wonder_ he's so fast!" Ochako said with wide eyes.

"Indeed. It is no wonder his kin could evade the Red Blade of Judgement," Tokoyami hummed, thinking about how-difficult it was to actually _hit_ a cockroach… with a rolled-up newspaper.

"Okay, now _that_ was racist," Mineta interjected.

"I'm speaking _metaphorically_."

"Yeah, but you just don't _say_ that sort of thing to another Mutant," Tsuyu huffed. "That's like me asking if you're going to go to the park and give bird seed to your _cousins_."

"Actually, with the propagation of Mutant-Type Quirks into the general populous, the line between human and animal _has_ grown blurry in recent years…" Izuku said, going off into his own little world about how the definition of "human" fundamentally changed as more and more Quirks showed Mutant-Type tendencies, particularly those of the _animal_ archetype.

"But still, he's going up against Todoroki next, and his ice Quirk is as OP as it gets," Mineta grumbled. "I don't think anything Genki has can top _that._ "

"Yeah, if Gokiburi wants to pull one last win out of his ass, he'd better stand up," Kaminari hummed.

"So _vulgar_ ," Momo cringed while Ochako chuckled.

 _ ***MHA***_

"At last we've arrived! The best of the best among Yuuei's first-years will be decided!" Present Mic announced, getting everyone pumped up for the final fight. "Representing the Hero Course we have Todoroki Shoto! Representing the General Course we have Gokiburi Genki!"

"Yuuei Sports Festival Battle Tournament final round! START!" Midnight proclaimed, the enthusiastic _***CRACK***_ of her whip resounding through the tournament air even louder than before.

Unlike all the previous fights that came before it however, there was no explosive burst of action or a titanic showing of the elements; only a tense stillness as the two fighters regarded one another. One, the son of the No.2 Hero, the other, a complete unknown that'd trampled all his way. Both had clawed up the hill vying to be king, and now they were meeting for the final showdown.

 _'Alright... How do I approach this?'_ Todoroki thought to himself, keeping his cool and observing the fact that his opponent hadn't yet made a move either.

While he _could've_ used his ice, the issue lied in the fact that Genki's **Goki Oil Flow** , due to the impurities in his secretions, possessed "anti-freezing" properties. Also, after what happened in Mina's match, the idea wormed its way into his head that even if he _wanted to_ use his [Hellflame] Quirk, if Genki's oil acted as an insulator for his body, but not for his clothes, he might be written off as some kind of pervert for stripping an opponent of their clothes.

Hypothetically, of course.

Genki on the other hand had similar thoughts ruminating inside his head. While his [Oilpiration] would definitely protect him from the cold, if he lost his leverage and was _immobilized_ , his "anti-icing" countermeasures would be meaningless. And even if [Subzero] weren't a factor, Endeavor's [Hellflame] most-certainly was, and if it wasn't bad-enough that bugs in _general_ weren't good with heat, _smoke_ was even worse; especially for him.

As such, the two were left at an impasse, neither willing to make the first move until an opening presented itself.

"Todoroki… In your previous round… you didn't use your left side…" Genki muttered aloud, causing the two-toned teen's shoulders to hitch. "But… in your fight before then, Midoriya coaxed it _out_ of you, despite whatever issues you had with your father's [Hellflame] Quirk…"

"What's your point?" Shoto bit out. Honestly, between the revelation he was still grappling with, and the words Izuku had spoken to him that shook him to his very core, all he was doing _now_ was going through the motions.

"My point is… Midoriya helped me realize something too…" he said as he began stepping back slowly, the exact _opposite_ of what was expected of him. "If I want to become a great Hero… heck, if I even want to make it into the Hero _Course_ … I can't afford to hold _anything_ back, I have to give this tournament everything I have!"

' _I'm being polite. I am being_ very _polite right now,'_ Todoroki mused as his opponent stopped a meter from the out-of-bounds line.

"And if I can't even do that much… I don't _deserve_ to be a Hero!" Genki yelled passionately. "I don't care if you're the son of the number-two Hero! To me, you're just another obstacle, so you only get _one warning_ …!" he said as he slowly raised his right hand to his face. "TRY NOT TO DIE!"

Those cryptic words spoken, to everyone's shock, Genki then bit _down_ into the meat of his thumb, drawing blood before biting deeper and spattering his face bright red.

What came next would shock them to their very cores.

 **Cue My Hero Academia OST – A Huge One Appears**

Angry crimson veins spreading across his body, an angry hissing noise sounded as steam began to rise out of his spiracles. The teen drawing in on himself with a pained expression on his face, jaw clenched with teeth-cracking force, his torso suddenly tripled in size ripping his shirt to shreds. The staccato sound of bones breaking, realigning, and breaking again spreading into the air as spectator's hands went to their mouths, Genki's limbs bent and contorted at unnatural angles as they _too_ experienced a similar surge of monstrous growth.

' _This pressure… I've felt it before…'_ Todoroki shuddered, skin crawling as his opponent's lean runners build metamorphosed into a bulky brawler's **V-** shape, oily chitinous armor beginning to spread across his form.

Nearly the entirety of Genki's body now clad in shiny armored plates, Todoroki couldn't help but think back to the monstrous, borderline _inhuman_ vibe given off by the Noumu during the USJ Incident.

"Mid **night… Cementoss…"** Genki called out, his voice deepening mid-sentence as armored plates formed over his head, closed eyes snapping open revealing angular compound eyes as mandibles formed around his lips. **"I can only keep this up for thirty seconds… After that… the two of you need to hit me with everything you've got."**

Before the teachers could inquire further, Genki turned his attention toward his opponent.

 **"Todoroki… Before I lose myself to this power… I** _ **will**_ **defeat you!"** Genki roared passionately as his head snapped toward him.

 **Cue My Hero Academia OST – Offense and Defense of a Threat  
**

Genki's black compound eyes suddenly flashing to green like the awakening of a mecha in its titular genre, the concrete at his feet suddenly exploded as he erupted into movement, the noise of his monstrous footfalls snapping Todoroki out of his shock. The two-toned teen putting his best foot forward, the startings of his signature **Giant Ice Wall** spilled out of the ground in front of him, the age-old duel between the unstoppable force and the immovable object playing out once more.

 **"To quote something a great man once said; Carolinaaaaa SMAAAAASH!"** Genki roared as he performed a cross chop in front of him, splitting the infant glacier in two before it could fully mature.

' _This isn't just muscular cross-section at work. His exoskeleton must be augmenting his strength even further, like a rhinoceros beetle!'_ Todoroki realized as Genki rushed forward unabated.

His skin erupting into gooseflesh as the oily, armored hide of his opponent bore down on him with the force of a runaway freight train, thundering footsteps rolling over him like an avalanche, instead of the passionate soul-saving words of an aspirant hero, what drew out his flames _instead_ was a primal fear as his opponent's muscles shifted like tectonic plates, monstrous power lying just beneath the surface.

The air dyed bright orange as a mantle of flame once again bloomed across the left side of his body, the nearby torches guttering out as he sucked away the nearby oxygen, Todoroki raised an adrenaline fueled hand, willing the massive plume of fire to roll across the stage like a tidal wave.

 **"Detroiiiiit SMAAAAASH!"** Genki roared as he threw a downward punch.

While nowhere near the power of the real McCoy, as concrete exploded beneath an armored fist, the updraft that was summoned was still enough to rip Todoroki's flame from the stage and into the heavens.

Heterochromatic eyes going wide at the monstrous display of power, Genki's bullet-shaped head snapping up at him, Todoroki was close-enough to him to realize that his opponent's green ommatidia were slowly bleeding to a baleful red from the edge in, the hairs on his neck standing up as the green optical panes disappeared one by one.

Genki rushing at him once again, Todoroki threw up an ice wall between them only for Genki to punch a hole through it like Bakugou to Tsuburaba Kosei's [Solid Air].

A massive hand clamping around his leg with the force of an industrial vise, Todoroki was hauled off his remaining foot and into the air, his opponent's cry of- **"Oklahomaaaaa SMAAAAASH!" –** sounding through the air as he was suddenly spun about, the teen on the verge of blacking out before the hold on his ankle was suddenly released, the teen screaming towards the concrete wall out-of-bounds at _literal_ breakneck speed.

Before Todoroki could hit said wall and paint it a very disgusting color, a blur of yellow suddenly swooped in.

 **"Don't worry, my lad. I've got you,"** All Might said with a winning smile as he set Todoroki onto his feet, the crowd erupting into cheers at the number-one Hero's impeccable rescue.

That cheer however was suddenly cut off as Genki threw his head back, a mix between a roar and a hiss spilling out from between plate and mandible as his body trembled, the last of his green ommatidia giving way to baleful red, glowing ominously like blood in the moonlight.

 **End OST**

"I think it's time we stopped this before someone gets _seriously_ hurt," Aizawa said as he rose from his seat.

Eyes of black snapping to baleful red, the man's hair standing on end, Aizawa's **Erasure Wave** sliced through the air, washing over the transformed teen all the way down on the tournament stage. The transformed teen's crimson ommatidia flickering to an inert black, Genki's guttural roar/hiss died on his lips, silence reigning as he became as still as a statue.

"Is… Is it over?" Midnight asked off-mic, only for inert black to once again snap to baleful red with an ominous humm, the monstrous Mutant suddenly thundering towards _her_. "Oh crap!"

 **"WHOA THERE!"** All Might said as he swooped in between the two, the number-one Hero's hand catching Genki's thrown punch before intercepting a second. **"The match is _over_ young man. You can clam down now."**

 _ ***HIIIISSSSSSSSS***_

 **"Nnngh! When Genki said he was going to 'lose himself' to this power, I thought that was just him being a _Chuuni_ …"** All Might said through grit teeth as the red-eyed bug-tank pushed against him. While nowhere near his _full_ power by any stretch of the imagination, the transformed Mutant's strength was still nothing to snuff at. **"While I _can_ do this all day, I don't really _want_ to, sooo…?"**

Cementoss and Midnight catching on, the two immediately swung into action.

Cementoss launching himself onto the stage, the blocky man palmed the ground causing it to undulate, the transformed teen sinking swiftly into the liquefied composite material under his own weight like quicksand. The feral teen flailing as he sunk up to his elbows, as All Might swung around and held his arms at his sides from behind, Genki was left completely exposed to Midnight's finishing move… A flying body splash where she nestled his head betwixt her bosom, the emissions from her [Somnambulist] smothering him while All Might leapt away. Genki's wild flailing weakening, after a few seconds his baleful red compound eyes flickered from red to green, before shifting to a completely inert black.

The entire takedown took only a few moments. The fact that no-one was significantly harmed was credit to their swift response and combined experience as Pro Heroes, and the ample warning that Genki gave beforehand.

"Well… _That_ was unexpected," Present Mic announced dumbly.

"No. _Really_?" Aizawa asked sarcastically. "I was expecting _exactly_ this to happen."

But of course, no-one did. Many expected Genki to either blitz Todoroki at full speed, or for Todoroki to freeze his opponent solid. No-one _ever_ could've expected him going full-on Rage Mode, putting on a few feet and several hundred pounds, and punching through solid ice or blowing away fire while screaming out some of All Might's signature attacks.

Least of all, no-one expected _three_ Pro Heroes to get involved, where previously only _one_ had to intervene in a match.

"But still, who knew Gokiburi had a full-on _berserker_ mode?" Present Mic asked aloud, doing what he could to run damage control since loaded words like "berserker" would make his loss of control seem like less his fault, thus preserving his marketability for the Hero Agencies.

"It's to be expected that something like this would happen when he went all-out. Being stuck in the General Course didn't leave him much avenue to learn _how_ to control this part of himself, and there aren't many places in a civilian setting this ability could be safely trained either," Aizawa hummed, catching on to what Present Mic was doing and running damage control as well. "That he had the presence of mind to throw Todoroki out of the ring before he lost complete control of himself and that he had the foresight to warn us about it beforehand, short-notice that it was, speaks a great deal about his character. He obviously expected that, anything less than his very best, wouldn't be enough to let him fight the son of the number-two Hero on equal footing, so this may have been the only option he felt was left open to him. Especially since he isn't part of the Hero Course _yet_. Even making it to the semifinal round isn't any sort of guarantee for promotion."

"But if he had this kind of stopping power under his belt the entire time, why couldn't he pass the entrance exam and get into the Hero Course from the start?"

"Like he said before, he could only keep control of himself for thirty seconds. It isn't uncommon for people with Transformation abilities stacked on top of pre-existing Mutant-Type Quirks to lose control of themselves. At least one other student in the Hero Course has a similar, if not the exact same, problem."

"Okay, but… Man, I did _not_ see that coming," Present Mic admitted as the match drew to a close

 _ ***MHA***_

 **"Well now… _That_ was certainly unexpected,"** All Might admitted once everything calmed down, wafts of steam rising from between seams in chitinous armor. **"Who knew this kid from the General Course would rampage in a place like this."**

"Oh, Gen-kun isn't a bad boy, he just needs a little TLC," Midnight cooed softly as she stroked the top of his armored head. "The next time you feel like acting out, come see me, I'll be sure to give you a good spanking~" she said giving him a kiss on his armored cheek.

Of course, the tender, motherly moment would be swiftly interrupted as the whole of his head snapped off at the neck, dropping Midnight onto her back leaving her starting into empty, lifeless eyes.

" . . . EYAAAAAAAGH!" the R-Rated Hero screamed as she flung the severed head into the air, juggling it frantically as she was unable hold onto it but just-as-incapable of letting it hit the ground.

 **"OOOH! MYYY! GOOOOOD!"** All Might wailed in English as he stared at the empty space where Genki's head once was, naught but steam spilling out.

It took a few seconds for the audience to realize what happened, but soon they _too_ began to panic, openly screaming things like- "His head fell off!" –or- "Call an ambulance!" –or any other number of completely unhelpful comments such as- "We're all gonna die!"

As mothers covered children's eyes and the squeamish emptied the contents of their stomach, Midnight frantically juggling the empty head through the air, the massive armored torso began to dry up at a rapid pace, crumbling to pieces like rice crackers revealing naught but an empty shell.

While Midnight struggled to regain her composure, All Might and Cementoss peered into the leg-shaped hole the liquefied concrete had been molded into. Groaning tiredly and leaned to one side was a de-transformed Genki, the whole of his attire utterly destroyed sans a small amount of his pants, barely enough to preserve his modesty. Steam rising off his reddened skin, after a few moments his complexion returned to its original color, the last puffs of steam wafting away as strips of auxiliary muscle fiber shriveled away before flaking off.

 **"Midnight, you can stop freaking out. The kid's just sleeping,"** All Might called out.

"Albeit, a little malnourished," Cementoss hummed, seeing that Genki looked a bit thinner than before.

 **"Well, putting on that much muscle _had_ to take a lot of calories,"** All Might admitted with a chuckle. Even though his "Small Might" form looked like an emaciated skeleton, to even have the _energy_ to use [One for All], he had to eat a great deal of food daily like the body builders of the past, making him a bit of an expert on calorie-intensive transformations.

"So then I _didn't_ take his head off just-now?" Midnight asked.

 **"No, Midnight. You did not,"** All Might returned.

"Oh… That's good to know," Midnight sighed as she held the empty shell, only for it to crumble apart in her hands. "Pfah! I think some of it got in my mouth!"

 **"Phrasing!"** All Might chuckled.

 _ ***MHA***_

As a pair of medic robots carried Genki away, a blanket thrown over him to preserve his modesty, while Cementoss cleared away the battle tournament stage for the award ceremony, Midnight, her composure regained, addressed the audience.

"Since Gokiburi threw Todoroki out-of-bounds before the faculty had to interfere due to issues with his Quirk, it's been decided that Gokiburi's victory is still valid. As such, we have our Sports Festival Winner!"

At this, the crowd erupted into cheers, doubly-so for those that loved a good underdog story.

"After a brief intermission will be the awards ceremony, so don't go anywhere!" Present Mic whooped.

 _ ***MHA***_

 **AN:  
There **_**is**_ **a perfectly valid explanation for why Genki has a "Rage Mode", but that'll come up later. Unlike most OC-centric stories on this site, I'm not going to spill all the beans in one go "for no reason", I'm leaving a bit of mystery to be contemplated over.**

 **Like Aizawa said in-story, those with Mutant-Type Quirks** _ **in addition**_ **to a Transformation-like ability have a hard time controlling that part of their Quirk. Jurota Shishida is a very good example of this from the 1-A/1-B 4v4 battles, since he gets really big but also very "wild".**

 **Make sure to tell me what you think in the Review Column.**

 **GO BEYOND!**

 **EXCELSIOR!**


	11. Sports Festival Ending Ceremony

_**"** **Geeenkiiii."**_

"Uuuuugh…"

 _ **"** **Geeeenkiiiii."**_

"Guuuuurgh…"

 _ **"** **Wake up Genkiiiiiii."**_

"Who… Who's talking to me?"

 _ **"** **This is All Might, waking you up like a normal personnnnnnn."**_

"If you wanted me up, you could've used smelling salts," Genki said as he felt his strength returning to him, the teen rubbing his eyes. "How long was I out?"

 **"Oh, just a few minutes,"** All Might said with a wave of his hand. **"I'm glad you're up so soon. Any longer and we might've had to postpone the award ceremony."**

"Postpone…? You mean… You mean I'm not disqualified?"

"Disqualified? Oh _heaven's_ no," an intelligent voice said. "If we disqualified you after you put forth so much effort to make it as far as you did, your adoring public would be _sorely_ disappointed."

"P-P-P-P-Principal Nezu!?" Genki gawped looking over his other shoulder. "W-W-When did _you_ get here?!"

"I just arrived actually," the dog/mouse/bear hybrid returned jovially. "Takes me a little longer with these short legs of mine, but that's neither here nor there."

"Couldn't you just have the Support Course whip up a Segway for you, just with legs instead of wheels?"

"You know… I never really thought of that," Nezu hummed contemplatively. "Usually I just bum a ride off someone else. Hahahaha!"

"Well, if it ain't broke, don't fix it," Genki said scratching his head. "So… Since I'm not in handcuffs, I take it you were able to restrain me before I attacked anyone else?"

 **"Yes, your warning in that regard was much-appreciated,"** All Might said with a winning smile. **"It takes a very strong man to know one's own limits, even moreso to ask for help."**

"Well, I figured it'd look really bad if I leapt up into the audience and ripped someone in half like a phonebook," Genki said sitting up, only to wince as his body throbbed. "Ugh… _Damn_ that took a lot out of me. I thought going through puberty would take some of the edge of, but I guess I was wrong…" he cringed as he held his aching stomach.

"Well, you _did_ put on several hundred pounds of bone, muscle, and exoskeletal armor," Recovery Girl said making her presence known. "Transformations of that nature _do_ tend to eat at you when they aren't as straightforward as size-altering Quirks. Right now you're just a bit bruised and battered, but I _can_ fix you up with my [Recovery] Quirk. Only issue is, it might leave you sapped of energy before the award ceremony."

"If it's a matter of _stamina_ , you don't need to worry about that," Genki said with a wave of his hand. "I'll just burn some amylose polysaccharides after you're done and I'll be right as rain."

 **"Poly-** _ **what**_ **-aride?"** All Might asked dumbfounded.

"Amylose Polysaccharides are one of the components of _starch_ ," Principal Nezu answered. "One of Genki's sub-Quirks lets him manually catalyze it for an extra bit of energy."

 **"Oh, well I know what** _ **that**_ **is,"** All Might said scratching the back of his head. **"Well… I'll just head on out, wait for this young man to be up on his feet again. Send him out when he's ready,"** he said beating a hasty retreat.

"So… I really did _make it_ then?" Genki asked as he looked up at the ceiling, his body glowing green as Recovery Girl's lips met his cheek. "Somehow, I can't help but feel it came down more to luck than anything else."

"Nonsense!" Nezu cut in. "It only _looked_ like luck because you trained so hard before entering Yuuei you were better- _prepared_ for these obstacles put in front of you. Don't think of what you achieved as the result of mere chance. There's a difference between being lucky and deserving. One's an accident, the other, a _reward_ ; never get the two confused."

"Thanks… I really needed to hear that," Genki said with a smile as Recovery Girl's lips pulled away. "I guess I'd gotten so used to people disparaging my Quirk, I started doubting if I _earned_ this."

"Well _doubt_ no longer," Nezu said with a smile as he hopped on the bed and clapped him on the shoulder. "Go on now, or you'll be late for the award ceremony. We have a pleasant surprise waiting for you, so just follow the arrows."

"R-Right! Don't want to keep everyone waiting," Genki said getting up, steam rising from the corners of his mouth as his body burned a cache of starch for quick energy.

 _ ***MHA***_

"And now, it's time to move on to the awards ceremony!" Midnight announced, colorful fireworks popping in the air above the stadium as part of the ground opened up, the pearlescent winner's stand rising up from belowground revealing its winners. On the center stand above a large **1** was Genki, Todoroki to his right atop the **2** pedestal, while on the other side situated atop the **3** was Bakugou… strapped to a concrete slab with villain-grade restraints on his arms, hands, and mouth, an unending tide of muffled obscenities spilling into his muzzle.

" _Psst! Todoroki. What's with_ that _guy?"_ Genki whispered over his shoulder, struggling not to be blinded by the wall of camera flashes in front of the winner's stand.

" _He's been going wild since the second he woke up,"_ Todoroki whispered back. _"Apparently when he found out you beat_ me _, they had to put him in restraints so he wouldn't rampage."_

" _Geez, that guy has_ zero chill _, doesn't he?"_ Genki asked as Bakugou flailed against leather straps, chains, cuffs, and muzzle.

"In third place we have both Bakugou Katsuki and Iida Tenya. However, Iida was forced to leave early due to a family emergency. We hope you all understand," Midnight announced, sending a wink into the wall of cameras and flashes."Now, for the _medals_! Presenting them this year is…"

 **"HAAA HAHAHAHA!"** a bombastic voice bellowed as a vaguely rabbit-like silhouette rose atop the lip of the stadium roof, the audience exploding into cheers.

"Our very own hero, All Might!"/ **"I have brought the medals here!"** Midnight and All Might announced at the same time as the latter somersaulted onto the stage, completely overlapping one another causing the rancorous cheers to turn into an awkward silence.

"I cut you off… Sorry…" Midnight apologized with clasped hands while All Might trembled in embarrassment.

Regaining his composure, All Might ascended the matching steps to the winner's stand, standing face-to-face with the flailing Bakugou, even-now writhing like an angry fish on a line.

 **"Bakugou… Well… Isn't this a bit much?"** All Might asked as he removed the muzzle, an absolutely murderous expression on the blond's face.

"All Might…" Bakugou growled as he beheld the bronze medal in the No.1 Hero's hand. "You keep that thing away from me…!"

 **"Come now, young man, you worked** _ **very hard**_ **to make it this far. Plus, the _craftsman_ who made this medal would have their **_**feelings**_ **hurt if you didn't take it,"** All Might said lifting it up to slip the sash over Bakugou's neck, only for the teen to rear his head back.

"I don't care! This win… It doesn't mean _squat_. Doesn't matter what anyone else says. If I don't recognize it, then that medal's just _garbage_ …!" Bakugou growled as the sash of the medal pushed against the bridge of his nose.

 **"Young Bakugou, not everyone can win every time. What's important is that you learn from your losses. There is more to be gained from a wound than a flawless victory,"** All Might said struggling against the flailing teen, until finally settling the sash between the livid teen's teeth. **"This is a lesson even** _ **I**_ **have been forced to learn. Don't underestimate it's value simply because it hurts your pride."**

The fuming teen left with a medal on hand-er-mouth, All Might then moved on to the second tier stand.

 **"Todoroki. Congratulations,"** All Might said with a smile, the two-toned teen bowing his head humbly as he accepted the silver medal. **"Even though you used your left side against Gokiburi, in the end, you still held back. Was there a reason for that?"**

"It was my match against Midoriya… I think I've lost my way," the teen said somberly. Even after his final battle, it was his _second_ that weighed most-heavily on his mind. "I know you've taken an interest in him, and I'm starting to see why. I've always wanted to become a Hero like you, but… It's not like I can just forget and get over things. That isn't good enough. There's still something I have to settle," he finished, eyes downcast.

 **"** **. . . That's a new look I'm seeing on your face. Say no more. Whatever you must settle, I'm sure you can do it,"** All Might said giving the teen a muscly hug and patting him on the back.

Stepping back, All Might ascended the longest flight of steps coming face to face with Gokiburi, a dusting of red on the teen's face as the cheers of the audience washed over him, the camera flashes almost blinding him.

 **"Gokiburi… What you've accomplished here today is nothing short of amazing,"** All Might said as he beheld the gold medal, its polished face sparkling in the afternoon sun. **"One after the other, you overcame every obstacle placed before you, even when the odds were stacked against you. It gives me** _ **great**_ **pleasure to award your efforts with** _ **this**_ **medal. I look forward to seeing what you go on to accomplish in the future."**

However, as he slipped the medal over the teen's neck, the No.1 Hero winced as _tears_ greeted him.

 **"Wh-What's wrong, young man? Are you still hurt from your previous match?"** All Might asked worriedly.

"I'm not crying…" Genki sniffled as he rubbed his eyes, thankful that the wall of muscle in front of him hid his expression from the media. "I'm… I'm just allergic to sore _loser_. _That's_ all."

"Whad ou shay?!" Bakugou growled through the medal in his teeth.

 **"Well… uh… I hope that goes down soon…"** All Might replied awkwardly.

"Yeah…" _*Sob*_ "Me too…" Genki sniffled, wiping away the last of his tears.

 **"Anyway, before we finish up here, there's one last thing I want to say to you,"** All Might, projecting his voice for the media circus at his back to hear.

"What is it?" Genki asked as All Might stepped back.

 **Cue My Hero Academia OST – My Hero Academia**

 **"Young man… Congratulations,"** he said holding out his hand. **"Welcome… to your Hero Academia!"**

"Wha… What…? Y-You mean…?"

 **"That's right, young man! Welcome to the Hero Course!"** All Might said in a booming voice, a winning smile on his face. **"You are** _ **HERE**_ **!"**

It took a few moments for Genki to realize what exactly he'd just been told. Pinching his thigh only to see that everything was still there, reassured this moment was _not_ a dream, the teen's eyes suddenly began to water. His vision going cloudy, his teeth clenched as his shoulders began to hitch, after a few seconds, bit fat tears began to spill down his face. A heartfelt wail escaping his lips as the media scrambled to capture this heartfelt moment, a moment later the General Course let out an explosive cheer, which soon spread to the entire arena.

 **"Dry those tears, young man,"** he said embracing the sobbing teen, patting the teen's back even as his costume was soaked with tears and snot. **"The face a Hero has to show the most… is a big, winning smile,"** he said stepping to the side.

"H… Hai!" Genki choked out.

The teen giving his best, winning smile, All Might raised the teen's arm in a show of victory –while discretely wiping his suit clean-. The wave of camera flashes that came a moment later would've been blinding, had his eyes not already been drowned in tears. The roar of the crowd and explosion of fireworks sounding through the air, by the time All Might was ready to wrap things up, Genki's tears had stopped flowing, that winning smile ever-present on his lips as the wall of camera flashes grew more tame.

 **"Well, these are our winners. But hold on! Everyone here today has the potential to be standing up here, as you've all witnessed here today!"** All Might announced, a wave of his hand toward Genki proving exactly that sentiment as undisputible _fact_ rather than hopeful _opinion_. **"Competition! Encouragement! Pushing each other to climb higher and higher! The sprouts of today will grow into the Heroes of tomorrow! In that spirit, let's have on final cheer!"** he announced, a finger raised to the heavens. **"Everyone say it with me now! One, two, and…"**

"PLUS ULTRA!"/ **"THANKS FOR THE HARD WORK!"**

" . . . "/ **" . . . "**

A moment later and the spectators actually started _heckling_ him.

"We're supposed to say 'Plus Ultra', All Might!"

 **"Oh, right… It's just, they really** _ **did**_ **work so hard and…"**

Heckling aside, the Yuuei Sports Festival ended on a high note, for Gokiburi Genki more than anyone else.

However, even with all he'd accomplished, there was still one final obstacle for him to overcome.

 _ ***MHA***_

 **AN:  
I'm not sure how-many OC-centric stories have their protagonists get into the Hero Course **_**this**_ **way instead of having the "stopping power" to get into the Hero Course from the get-go, but I'd like to think I did a pretty good job. Please be sure to tell me your thoughts in the Review Column.**

 **GO BEYOND!**

 **EXCELSIOR!**


	12. One Shall Stand, One Shall Fall

' _I can't believe it… I made it. I really made it!'_ Genki thought, his ear-to-ear smile never once leaving his face as he was escorted towards Class 1-A by the Erasure Hero: Eraser Head.

To be honest, Genki thought he'd have to wait another two days before being told whether or not he'd made it into the Hero Course, so getting promoted this-early was a bit of a surprise, but a welcome one nonetheless.

However, while he never expected to be promoted in front of _everyone_ , it was even more unexpected that the No.1 Hero, The Symbol of Peace: _All Might_ , would be the one to induct him into Japan's most-prestigious Hero Course. In front of the entire _country_ no less!

The Olympic-grade gold medal dangling from his neck was just an added bonus. Definitely have to frame it when he got home.

As he was being escorted to Class 1-A by their homeroom teacher, he couldn't help but let another tear slide down his cheek, his efforts being rewarded so-quickly too good to be true.

"Keep your emotions under control," Aizawa chided, causing the oily-haired teen to suck in his breath. "The principal might've let you into the Hero Course, but there's one last obstacle for you to overcome. Getting too excited before then just isn't logical."

"But… But I won the Sports Festival! What more do I have to _do_?!" Genki asked nervously.

"Oh… You'll see…" Aizawa said with a grin behind his bandages as they arrived at their destination, the massive **1 - A** placard above the door causing joy, excitement, and a bit of unease to bubble up in the pit of the bug-like teen's stomach.

Aizawa unceremoniously barging his way into the classroom, when Genki followed after, the bug-like teen immediately felt all eyes land on him; albeit, with less animosity than before the Cavalry Battle.

Some students looked at him with awe, amazed that someone from the General Course could steal the whole pie. Others felt a bit robbed, but had a begrudging respect for his _abilities_. Bakugou of course, was fuming, angry red sparks dancing within clenched palms, causing angry wisps of smoke to rise into the air as the teen shot him an absolutely _murderous_ glare.

Also, for some reason he was still holding his third-place medal between clenched teeth.

"As I'm sure you're all aware, as a result of his performance during the Sports Festival surpassing all expectation, Gokiburi Genki has been formally admitted into the Hero Course," Aizawa began.

"Congratulations!" Mina cheered.

"Way to go, man!" Kirishima said pumping a fist.

"The many years of preparation you must've undergone prior to now have been well-spent indeed," Iida proclaimed.

"I'm so happy for you!" Ochako cheered.

" _This is fucking_ bullshit _…!"_ Bakugou raged quietly.

"However, each class in the Hero Course only has _twenty_ slots within, something we don't intend on changing any time soon," Aizawa said cutting through the cheer like a hot knife through butter. "Ah, good, you all know what that means then," he said with a smile, the whole of the class suddenly breaking down into a nervous sweat, the tension thickening like pea soup. "Gokiburi, remember that final obstacle I told you about?"

"Y… Yeah…?"

"To put it as bluntly as I can, in order to get into the Hero Course for _good_ , you'll have to give someone the boot; and the one that decides who gets the boot to make that happen… is _you_."

" . . . EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHH!?" everyone gawped after a long silence.

"W-Waddya _mean_ he gets to _choose_?!" Mineta cried.

"Yeah, how is _that_ fair?" Kaminari questioned.

"In the real world, you can't climb to the top without stepping on people's toes, that's just the way the world works," Aizawa answered flatly to the class before turning to the oily-haired teen. "You got into the Hero Course as the result of your efforts, so unless you want to go back to the General Course _yourself_ , you'll make your choice within the next hour. If you can't come to a decision by then, this'll be the last time you ever set foot in this classroom. Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-Yes sir!" Genki gaped, shivering under the scraggy man's piercing gaze.

"Good," Aizawa nodded, pulling his familiar sleeping back up to his neck and nestling himself into the corner, legs drawn up to his chest.

Apparently he had a bit of a _reputation_ for sleeping on his side, something Recovery Girl said he wasn't allowed to do anymore until he'd fully recovered.

"So… Um…" Genki hummed nervously as he stood at the front of the room, feeling many sets of nervous eyes on him. "Greetings. My name is Gokiburi, Genki. I look forward to working with you all," he greeted with a bow.

"You're not part of my class _yet_. You still have to give someone the boot," Aizawa hummed between juice boxes.

"I was trying to be a little _tactful_ ," Genki sighed. "So…" he said looking everyone over, the students sitting up straighter in their seats as his eyes passed over them. "How to decide who gets the boot…"

"Obviously, the only fair choice is a _democratic_ one," Iida said adjusting his glasses. "As opposed to the voting for Class Representative where whichever students receives _more_ than their self-given vote is most-worthy of representing our class, whoever is favored the _least_ would be most-logically reflected in the number of votes they receive."

"Ah, like those American drama shows where someone gets out-voted at the end of every week," Genki nodded. "Yes… Yes, that seems like the most-fair way of doing things." Digging into his school bag for some stationary, the teen grabbed a piece of paper and folded it over until it became twenty-times thick, then ripped it along the creases into equally-sized pieces. "Alright then… Iida-san, please pass these ballots to the class. In ten minutes we'll tally the results. It _is_ the only fair way to decide who gets the boot."

With an enthusiastic nod, Iida took the proffered ballots and began passing them in ascending order by seat number, the tensions rising for the students of Class 1-A as they _themselves_ were now on the chopping block, a juxtaposition to the tone preceding the Cavalry Battle.

 _ ***MHA***_

In the ten minutes following, the only sounds to be heard were pencils and pens scratching on paper, and Aizawa in the corner with his juice boxes. Some students were able to cast their votes straight-away, while others found it harder to come to such a decision. After all, they _were_ holding the fates of their peers in their hands with a decision like this.

A shrill beeping sounding from Genki's phone alarm, Iida ordered all pencils down as he began collecting the votes, twenty pieces of folded-over paper, nearly-identical to one another. In this way, it couldn't necessarily be determined _who_ voted for whom by anything but handwriting.

"Holy crap, the suspense's _killing_ me," Kaminari gulped.

"You're not the _only_ one," Kirishima muttered.

"I'm pretty sure _I'm_ safe, kero~" Tsuyu hummed thoughtfully.

"Yeah, well, we aren't _all_ that lucky," Sato gulped nervously, the tensions rising as the new Hero Course student began compiling the votes.

"Alright, class. I will now begin the final tally," Genki stated, those less-than-confident about their standing audibly gulping. "First vote we have is one for a… 'Deku'?" he asked with a confused tilt of his head as he looked the angry scrawling over, and then compared it to the student roster. " . . . Forget it. Moving on."

"HEY! YOU PUT THAT BACK!" Bakugou demanded as his vote was summarily tossed into the trash.

"Next vote we have is… Yuuga Aoyama."

"Oui?!"

"I've got a few votes for Katsuki Bakugou," Genki said isolating similarly-worded votes.

"Who the hell voted me out!? I'll KILL YOU!" the explosive teen raged, the user of [Anivoice] wilting as he tried making himself as small as possible.

"Aaand… With twelve votes out of twenty, in an undisputed landslide victory… or _defeat_ depending on how you want to look at it, is…" he paused, a tired sigh leaving his lips as he extended a finger. "Minoru Mineta," he said tiredly.

"YOU TRAITOOOOOOR!" the grape-headed teen cried in outrage.

"I'm sorry! This was the only fair way to do it!" Genki pleaded with clapped hands.

"Well, you heard him," Aizawa said flatly as he drained his last juice box. "Minoru, clean out your desk. You're moving down to the General Course."

"WHYYY MEEEEEEE?!" Mineta cried.

"Because your debauched attitude is _not_ welcome in a school environment!" Iida stated plainly, making his stance on the matter known.

"Yeah! Beat it, you perv!" Mina cried.

"It's better than you deserve," Jiro bit out.

"See ya! Wouldn't wanna be ya!" Toru chipped in.

"This was the to-be-expected outcome, of course," Momo hummed.

"Don't let the door hit you on the way out," Tsuyu chirped.

"So long," Ochako added with a wave.

"NOOOOOOO! MY DREAM! MY HAREEEEEEM!"

"Um, actually…" Genki spoke up, choosing to _ignore_ Mineta's final outcry while he still had the patience for it. "Aizawa-sensei, is there any way we could help Mineta _transfer_? To a different school's Hero Course?" he asked, surprising _everyone_.

"T-Transfer?" Mineta asked hopefully.

"Yeah, I mean, _sure_ there isn't any room left in _this_ school's Hero Course… But there isn't any reason he can't take his credentials and transfer into one of Yuuei's _contemporaries,_ right?" Genki suggested hopefully.

"Well… I guess it isn't _impossible_ ," Aizawa sighed. Mineta may not've been made of the _strongest_ moral fiber, but getting into Yuuei was an achievement unto itself.

"Of course! That's always an option too," Izuku muttered to himself. Personally, he too felt a bit "iffy" about Mineta's chosen conduct at Yuuei and what kind of impact it'd have on his professional career after graduation, but even then, his Quirk was _still_ amazing, and it'd be a waste to see it squandered in the General Course.

The same sentiment he held for Shinso Hitoshi's [Brainwashing].

"But… Why would you go so far for me?" Mineta asked looking up at who was essentially his replacement. "I even called you a _traitor_ a minute ago."

"Because even though we barely knew one another, you still helped me clear the Cavalry Battle and get to the Battle Tournament proper. I'd have never been able to make it into the Hero Course without you, and while giving my own partner the boot is _regrettable_ , I still want to do right by you," Genki answered, the grape-headed teen's eyes swelling with fat tears before he began bawling in gratitude.

"Well… When he puts it _that_ way, I _guess_ it's only fair…" Mina found herself admitting.

"Hm. I agree. Taking his personality type out of the equation, being _admitted_ to Yuuei in of itself is an accomplishment, so any hero school he chooses should be quite eager to accept him into their ranks," Momo found herself contemplating. While she wasn't fond of the way he _literally_ piggy-backed off of her to get into the Cavalry Battle, he didn't deserve to be _completely_ vetoed from the Hero career path.

Even if he _was_ an unrelenting pervert.

"Yeah… I guess the new guy's right," Toru admitted.

"I'm gonna miss you, man," Sero sighed.

"Don't forget to write," Kaminari called out.

"Don't give me well-wishes all at _once_ ," Mineta huffed.

"Follow me, Minoru. The sooner we get your transfer paperwork out of the way, the better. The rest of you do… whatever," Aizawa said lazily as he walked out of the room.

" . . . Can I just say one more thing before I leave?" Mineta asked as he stood at the doorway.

"NO!" his female peers cried as they felt his eyes on them.

"Don't push your luck," Genki said coldly as he regarded his former teammate. "Quit while you're ahead. You wouldn't want to end up like _Bakugou_ , would ya?" he asked flashing a toothy lop-sided grin.

"N-N-N-N-No way! You use your bug-venom on me, I'll _die_!"

Genki chomping the air in front of him was enough to send Mineta running.

"So… I guess this means I made it…" Genki said thoughtfully as he let out a relieved sigh, feeling the weight Aizawa had put back on his shoulders leaving once again. "I really… really made it…"

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Mina asked as brown eyes began to water once more.

"Yeah, what's with the waterworks?" Kirishima asked as fat tears started pouring down his cheeks a moment later.

"I'm just… I'm just so _happy_ …" Genki answered, openly crying as his shoulders shook. "I wanted to be a Hero more than anything, so I was worried I wouldn't be able to make it here… but now that I am… for _real_ this time…" he sobbed happily. "I thought I'd run out of tears… but clearly that's not the case…"

"Hey, don't feel bad about the tears. Izuku's a bit of a crybaby too," Ochako admitted cutely, said greenette hanging his head in embarrassment.

"Well I for one am quite pleased to admit you into our ranks," Iida said walking up to him and clamping a hand on the sobbing teen's shoulder. "Dry those tears. They're very unbecoming of an aspirant Hero."

"Hey, I think it's really _cute_ when boys can be comfortable crying!" Toru argued.

"Yeah, the guy did better than anyone, he _deserves_ a good cry," Jiro added.

"I know it's important for a Hero to be manly, but it isn't _healthy_ to bottle up your feelings like that," Kirishima commented.

"When did I suddenly become the _bad_ guy?" Iida wilted as he felt judging gazes on his back.

"Still, what you did in the Sports Festival was very impressive," Tsuyu hummed as she walked forward and held out her hand, feeling a bit of pride being a Mutant-Type as well. "The name's Asui Tsuyu. You can call me Tsu."

"I-It's nice to meet you, T-Tsu," Genki returned, a dusting of pink on his cheeks as he shook the girl's hand.

"I am Iida Tenya, your Class Representative. If ever you encounter any obstacles, you're more than free to consult me."

"I'm Ochako Uraraka. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Mina Ashido, but you probably already knew that."

"Hey man, I'm Kirishima. You put up one hell of a fight to get here, huh?"

"I'm Izuku Midoriya," the greenette greeted. "It was incredible watching you fight. Your understanding of how your Quirk works is nothing short of _incredible_."

"Yeah, to think _Bakugou_ of all people would lose to someone from the General Course," Sero hummed thoughtfully, aforementioned teen absolutely _livid_.

"HEY! BUG BOY!" the teen raged, finally reaching his limits. "DON'T THINK THIS MEANS ANYTHING! I'LL STILL CRUSH YOU!"

" _Why the hell is that thing still in your mouth?"_ Genki asked flatly under his breath.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure him beating you in the Sports Festival means a _lot_ ," Tsuyu giggled.

"Yeah, after that speech you made, you must be so _embarrassed_ ," Mina chuckled, the explosive teen gritting his teeth as he took an angry step forward.

"Self-defense!" Genki hastily cried as he puffed out his cheeks, a jet of oil passing through pursed lips and hitting Bakugou right in the eyes with a wet _***Splat***_

"Whoa! Super-spit?" Mina awed as Bakugou clawed at his face.

"It's _oil,_ actually," Genki corrected as he ran over to the trash bin, spittle and oil deposited with the garbage. "Obviously it's not very pleasant for _either_ of us," he said wiping his mouth as Bakugou furiously clawed at his face.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Spitting up acid isn't very fun for _me_ , either?" Mina admitted as she scratched her cheek. "I mean, I'll _do it_ if I'm desperate, but unless I gargle half a bottle of mouthwash afterward, everything I eat for a week will taste really _nasty_."

"So essentially, your Quirk is an amalgamation of traits, adaptations, and defense mechanisms of _multiple_ species of cockroach, not just a single breed?" Izuku asked for further classification.

"In a nutshell…" Genki replied. "Seeing as how we'll all be working together from now on, I don't see any reason not to share the specifics of my Quirk with you. It'd be pretty hard to work together if I kept it secret, and I already know about most of your Quirks to an extent," Genki admitted as he cleared his throat. "As you all probably noticed during the Obstacle Course Race, my Quirk lets me cover fifty body lengths per second. However, that's only _partly_ true. My _max_ speed is fifty blps, but it takes me significantly longer than a second to reach top speed. I can eject air from my spiracles to help me accelerate _faster_ , but it puts an enormous strain on my body, even after all the training I've done."

"I've been meaning to ask…" Iida chimed in. "Are you _truly_ capable of reaching speeds up to two-hundred miles per hour?"

As a speed-type hero-in-training, his pride demanded he ask.

"For a _while_ , yes, but my most-comfortable top-speed is actually around a hundred _ninety_ miles per hour. Also, the issue I've encountered while training is that _ordinary_ shoes just aren't up to the task, so outside the rare times I practiced on an empty stretch of highway in the dead of night… I just tend to run as fast as I _need_ to," Genki answered.

"What about that _oil_ you were sweating all over the place? What's the deal with that?" Mina asked.

"That would be my [Oilpiration] sub-Quirk," Genki answered. "Basically, I can secrete the fats in my body out my sweat glands with varying levels of viscosity. Not only is it good for keeping up my girlish figure," he joked, "but it's also a huge help whenever I come across anything sticky. This adaptation is actually why adhesive traps won't work on _all_ cockroaches. In fact, the cockroach's survival of several hundred million years can be largely accredited to this same ability."

"So then my [Tape] wouldn't work on you either?" Sero asked, remembering how Mineta's own sticky Quirk had been effortlessly trumped.

"Only if you try it _after_ I've gotten lubed up."

"Phrasing!" Kaminari chuckled.

"Speaking of which… Don't touch my oil with your bare hands. Cockroach secretions contain enzymes that interfere with nerve endings, which is why Bakugou's arms got weaker and weaker as we fought," Genki went on to explain, the blond fuming angrily since that was probably one of the things he _could've_ been warned about. "Also, like I tried explaining to Baka-gou over there, while I don't have actual _venom_ glands, similar to the komodo dragon, my saliva has enough bacteria in it that it can act as an anti-coagulant. That being said, I won't make _biting_ anyone a habit, it's just something I had to do to make _sure_ I beat Bakugou."

"Oh, you mean like a Debuff in an RPG?" Kaminari asked.

"Yes, exactly like that," Genki nodded. "Next up is my [Air Pressure Sensing] sub-Quirk. Like ordinary cockroaches, my body is covered in filiform hairs made up of appendages called "cerci" which are able to sense air motion in the surrounding area. This wind information is analyzed in the central nervous system which handles movements transmitted to my giant interneurons, or GIs. This analysis is part of the reason why cockroaches are able to take instantaneous evasive action regardless of whatever angle you attack them from," he explained, his antennae waggling occasionally. "Because of this adaptation, my reaction speed falls within the range of… okay, I don't know the _exact_ numerical value," he admitted, "but it's _estimated_ that my reaction speed is ten times faster than that of an unaugmented human."

"Oh! Like Spider-Man!" Sero spoke up.

"Similar, but Spider-Man's [Spider Sense] works regardless of whatever he's wearing. For _me_ , I'd need to expose some skin, something I'll have to work into my Hero Costume," he answered. "What else… Oh! I can also cling to walls and even the ceiling, though not if I'm weighed down with too much crap. I can also eject air from my spiracles like hissing cockroaches, though since it's scaled-up I'm able to emit up to a hundred-thirty decibels when I really push it, allowing me to reach the _pain_ threshold."

"So _that's_ how you were able to wield the roar of the thunder god in your hand," Tokoyami hummed stoically.

"I can also emit varying kinds of pheromones that let me summon and influence the behavior of cockroaches."

"Oh, like Koda-kun's [Anivoice]?" Sato asked, thinking back to his match in the "Heroes vs Villains" exercise where Koda summoned a flock of pigeons.

It's fortunate their turn was last, otherwise the next person would've had to wade through an entire room of pigeon crap.

"Not _exactly_. I can only give out really _vague_ orders like 'Form Up', 'Follow Me', 'Attack', 'Be Aggressive', 'Be Calm', and 'Go Home' like the built-in voice commands to an FPS," Genki answered. "Since pheromones do _not_ act like full-on telepathy, I think that's the most-advanced I'll be able to make this sub-Quirk. Anyway… I think that about covers everything," he said scratching the back of his head. "I mean, I _do_ have wings, but all I can do with them is _flutter_ , I can't full-on _fly_ or anything. Even _if_ I eject air from my spiracles for an added boost, I can't fight gravity."

"Hey wait a minute, what about that thing you did to Todoroki?" Kirishima asked.

"Yeah, what's the deal with that _rage mode_ you had going where you Hulked Out?" Kaminari asked.

"That's… probably a throwback from my dad's genome…" Genki deflected as he rubbed his bicep. "I've only transformed a handful of times in my entire life, so I don't really know that much about it other than the fact it makes me really strong. Obviously I can't control it all that well, but… _maybe_ I could learn to control it now that I'm in the Hero Course?" he groused.

"Hey, don't feel too bad about it. My [Sugar Rush] Quirk makes me kinda stupid too, and Kaminari's makes him worse off than _me_ ," the buff teen said consolingly.

"Still, your Quirk's so _cool_!" Mina whooped.

"Indeed. Not only your speed, but your _agility_ was tremendously impressive as well," Iida nodded. "I'm man enough to admit that even _I'm_ jealous."

"You guys… You're taking this really well. Aren't you _disgusted_ by me?"

"Why _would_ we be?" Tsuyu asked. "I can't speak for the others, but if _I_ was off-put by your Quirk, I'd be a big hypocrite."

"Yes! Regardless of whatever societal stigmas you may've had to endure in the past, you must hold your head high! That is your role as a member of the Yuuei Hero Course!" Iida professed proudly.

"I… Thank you… I really appreciate how accepting you are of my Quirk."

"I take it people gave you a hard time too?" Tsuyu asked.

"More than you can imagine," Genki sighed.

"Oh, I think my imagination's up to the task," Tsuyu said with a somber smile.

"Hey bug-boy!" Bakugou spoke up, finally removing his medal from his mouth. "My room's got a bit of a roach problem. Think you could come over and tell them to beat it?" he taunted with a sneer.

"If your place has roaches, it's because your place is _filthy_ , just like _you,_ " Genki replied flatly, Bakugou bristling in rage at the turnabout.

"Man, that was _brutal_ ," Sero winced.

"What, did you rehearse that in a mirror?" Jiro asked with a raised brow.

"No… I just got a lot of flak like that in middle school," Genki sighed tiredly, his hand shooting up to catch the medal Bakugou tried to bean him with without even looking at it. "Picked up pretty quick how to make anyone who bothered me look foolish," he said twirling the medal around his finger.

"Trust me, I know how you feel," Tsuyu said before smiling towards him. "But don't worry, those days are behind you. You don't have to worry about what people think of your Quirk."

"Yes, you won the entire Sports Festival. That in of itself is nothing short of amazing," Momo nodded.

"To be honest, most of it felt like sheer dumb luck," Genki admitted bashfully.

"When one thoroughly prepares themselves for every outcome, taking advantage of opportunities put before you that you have readied yourself for only _seems_ like luck," Tokoyami said stoically.

"Yes! Your victory was one well-earned! Never forget that!" Iida said proudly.

"Still though, you're _crazy_ strong, so how come you didn't pass the _entrance_ exam?" Kirishima asked.

"Well… I didn't really have the stopping power to kill enough robots, and by the time I found the _off_ switches on the Three-Pointers, it was too late to get my numbers back up."

"But what about when you turned into a rage monster? Couldn't you use _that_ to take out the Three-Pointers? I mean, you put holes in solid _concrete_ ," the red-head stated. "Hell, you cross-chopped a glacier in two. Way cool by the way!"

"Like I told Midnight and Cementoss during my fight with Todoroki, I can only keep my shit together for thirty seconds. After that I start attacking everything around me because of an imbalance in my brain chemistry… or something," Genki said flatly as he scratched at his head. "And I couldn't accumulate any _Rescue_ Points because the opportunity never presented itself."

"Hold on, how did you know about _those_?" Izuku asked. As far as he knew, _no-one_ knew about those, and even if they did, they weren't really privy on _sharing_ that information.

"My mom was a Yuuei alumnus. Of course, the _off switches_ weren't something that was part of the test in _her_ day," he answered. "I think in the past there was a _mix_ of human and robot adversaries, but somewhere down the line it became fully automated with _just_ robots when people started bitching and whining about _humans_ getting hurt; mind my French, no offense."

"None taken," Aoyama replied.

"Hey, while we still have some free time, you wanna swap numbers?" Mina asked holding up her phone.

"You want to trade numbers with _me_?" Genki asked with raised brows. "Even after what I did to you in front of all those people?"

"H-Hey, don't make it sound so _pervy_!" the pinkette yelped. "Do you wanna trade or not?"

"S-Sure," Genki replied.

"Wow, your speed-dial's pretty bare, huh, Gen-kun?" Mina asked looking at his contact information.

"Well, everyone in middle school were a bunch of Bakugou-"

"Did you just use me as a _noun_!?"

"-so the only numbers I actually have are for my parents, extended family, and Hitoshi," Genki elaborated, hiding the fact he had an army of Onee-samas on the **Blocked** setting behind a password-protected folder so no-one'd see them. "Ah, that reminds me, I need to get Mei-san's number. I _did_ promise I'd let her work on my costume if I made it into the Hero Course. I can _definitely_ use something like those Custom Leg Parts in my arsenal."

"As your class representative, it is imperative we remain in contact with one another should the need arise," Iida said stepping forward with his own unique brand of swagger.

"It can't hurt to have too many friends," Tsuyu said stepping forward as well, her phone clad in an adorable green frog-like casing.

As though the floodgates had opened, suddenly, most of the class was swarming him to get his contact information. Even if it was only because he'd won the Sports Festival, the fact that they were wholly accepting of his Quirk so soon after meeting him, negative connotations and all, warmed his heart a great deal.

It really made it feel like all that hard work up to this point had paid off, and that his dream… wasn't just a flight of fantasy.

That and he was finally able to put his demons from middle school to bed. Kami knew they'd try and suck up to him now that he was famous and attending one of the most-prestigious Hero Academies in the country.

 _ ***MHA***_

"I'm back," Aizawa said tiredly a while later as he came back into the room, everyone scrambling to return to their seats. " . . . Why do you have _two_ medals?"

"Bakugou threw his away like a silver medalist after the Olympics," Genki answered as medals of bronze and gold both dangled from his neck.

" . . . Well, as long as he doesn't want it _back_ …" he said going to the front of the room, not really caring whether or not Bakugou wanted to _keep_ his medal. "Before I dismiss you, I have a couple things to say, so listen up. In light of the festival, you'll have tomorrow and the day after off," he began. "Scouting reports and such from the pros will be waiting for you here after the break, so look forward to that as you enjoy your time off."

"Hey, we should totally hang out!" Mina whooped.

"You're awfully cheerful toward the guy that got you all slimy."

"Phrasing!" Mina cried.

"Not you," Aizawa cut in. "With the Hero Internships coming up, you're going to need to get a functioning costume together in a hurry if you want to establish your brand. Since you actually _won_ the Sports Festival, it shouldn't be too hard to put in a rush order to the appropriate Support Company and get moved to the top of the cue, but even _then_ you'll just barely make it."

"Hey, I'm just happy I _made it_ to the Hero Course. I'll do as much extra work as I have to," Genki said confidently.

"Since you're late to the races, you'll _have_ to," Aizawa stated. "All of you. Dismissed."

"Guess we'll have to hang out some other time," Kirishima shrugged as he rose from his seat.

"Take care!" Mina said with a wave.

"Good luck getting your costume together," Izuku replied.

"If you _don't_ want something skin-tight, be sure to you say so very _clearly_ ," Ochako added. "I learned that lesson the hard way," she chuckled as she rubbed the back of her head.

"I look forward to working with you," Tsuyu said with a nod.

"Glad to have you on the team," Kyoka added.

"Congrats on making it to the Hero Course!" Toru said chipperly.

"Yes, your victory was definitely well-earned," Momo said with a nod.

"Well… _Someone's_ popular with the ladies," Aizawa hummed as everyone filed out.

"I think they just like me because I gave the boot to an unrelenting pervert," Genki admitted. It was really telling that he only knew Mineta for a few hours and _already_ knew that about him. "Probably feels like they've traded up."

"Hm. I see," Aizawa hummed tiredly. "Anyway, the sooner you get to work on your costume's design, the better-off you'll be."

"Right!" Genki said grabbing a pencil and paper. "Guess I'd better get to work."

"Here," Aizawa said putting a form in front of him. "Your mother brought a copy of your Quirk Registration Form by, so all that's left is coming up with a design. The Support Companies have gotten very good at blending form with function, so you don't need to micro-manage; just trust in their design sensibilities and everything will turn out fine."

"Actually, before I get to work on the costume, could I drop by the Support Course? I really need to get Mei-san's contact information so I can get some of those Custom Leg Parts we used in the Cavalry Battle."

"Glad to see you didn't forget me, Mr. First Place!"

"M-M-Mei-san?!" Genki yelped as the goggle-clad girl poked her head in through the door. "When'd _you_ get here?"

"Oh, I was waiting for you to be _alone_ ~" Mei cooed with a glint in her eye and a grin on her face. "Oh, hey there, Eraserhead!" she added like an afterthought.

"Hn."

"Anyway, happy to be workin' with ya! Let's get going!" Mei said linking arms with his and dragging him off.

"Well… At least he's networking _early_ ," the Erasure Hero sighed, before sighing more-despondently as he realized Genki had left his Quirk Registration Form and school bag behind. "Teenagers. Just the _worst_ ," he groaned as he pulled up his sleeping bag.

 _ ***MHA***_

 **AN:  
It's stated very clearly that if your performance in the Sports Festival is sub-par, you **_**can**_ **be booted out of the Hero Course to make room for those that surpass you, and I don't think that's a topic that too many authors have actually** _ **touched up on**_ **. Most Authors, at least as far as** _ **I**_ **know, opt to make the class of 20 become 21, 22, 23, and so-on from the very beginning, and that's something I wanted to do differently in** **Vigorous Vitality** **; write in someone being kicked** _ **out**_ **of the Hero Course to make room for someone new.**

 **Of course, back when I used to read Naruto crossovers, I saw a** _ **lot**_ **of "Bashing" type stories. Sasuke-bashing, Sakura-bashing, Kakashi-bashing, Sarutobi-bashing,** _ **Everyone**_ **-bashing… So I decided that while Mineta** _ **would**_ **be put on the chopping block as my objectively least-favorite 1-A student, that I could "do better" than simply booting him out of the Hero Course and being done with it just because he's a bit of –or one-hundred _percent_ of- a pervert.**

 **Yuuei Academy is the** _ **undisputed**_ **best Hero Academy in the country, and while I'm sure many of the Hero Aspirants that fall short of getting into Yuuei eventually try for** _ **other**_ **schools, I decided to write in the angle of Mineta** _ **transferring**_ **to a different school. Even though he gets the boot to make way for a General Course student,** _ **canonically**_ **, Mineta's admittance into 1-A was heavily decided on the results of his** _ **written**_ **exam, something he did better on than most of his peers whose Quirks are objectively "better" than his.**

 **I hope to hear your thoughts on this creative decision in the Review Column.**

 **GO BEYOND!**

 **EXCELSIOR!**


	13. Sports Festival Epilogue

**Phenomenal Excelsior:** Quite a brilliant way to have Mineta leave the hero course. Transfer to another school with it's own hero course. Genki will now share the ups and downs of being a Class 1-A student.

 **NeoNazo356:** Yeah, that's something I wanted to do _different_ in my story. _Anyone_ can make a class of 20 into 21, but I decided to work within pre-existing limitations. While I _could_ deviate from the Canon, a good balance can be found between leaving the lines and coloring within them. And plus, even if _other_ people have written in someone _else_ winning the Sports Festival and making it into the Hero Course, I doubt they've written anyone _out_ like I have.

 _ ***MHA***_

"Phew… Made it…" Genki sighed as he set down his phone, having just-received confirmation from his chosen Support Company that his costume had been completed, and was now in-transit to Yuuei; it would arrive in time for any afternoon coursework in which it would be _required_.

As-humble as his Quirk made him, or rather, as humble as society _forced_ him to be because of the connotations of his Quirk, even _he_ would be embarrassed if he had to take part in a Hero Course informatics exercise and be the only one bereft of a costume.

Designing the _costume_ had actually been pretty easy. All he had to do was combine elements from both his parents' Hero Costumes since his functional needs were identical, and then forward it to the same manufacturer since they specialized in costumes that dealt with liquid or otherwise viscous bodily secretions.

After that came procuring _Support Items_.

Genki had been completely fine with accepting Mei's products as-was, maybe with an added coat of paint so it'd coordinate well with his costume, but the eccentric inventor insisted on custom-tooling everything for _his_ build and his build alone. To that end the girl subjected him to many physical rigors to determine his limits of articulation, strength, speed, and his other Quirk-related factors since she intended to not only make everything _lighter_ , but with stronger and more-exotic materials as well since she was stepping out of the prototyping stage to make Support Items for a now-famous up-and-coming Hero.

By some strange coincidence, Mei had him go through an almost exact duplicate of Aizawa's Quirk Assessment Test from the beginning of the year, though Genki wouldn't learn of that until much later.

Partway through the process, Genki noticed that Mei was getting a little _personal_ , but the pinkette repeatedly assured him it was all "part of the creative process", maintaining a straight face even as she fondled his chorded muscles.

Since the girl created such amazing gear, he couldn't really _argue_ with that sentiment since her eccentricity garnered _results_ ; although he still wasn't sure how to feel about the fondling.

It was one thing to be fondled by his Onee-samas since he knew them from his prepubescence. It was quite another to be fondled repeatedly and _very_ thoroughly by a girl he'd only just met.

At least the inventive girl knew to stay away from his crotch.

Even if she almost crossed the line a time or two.

Of course, that wasn't _all_ he'd been doing over the past two days.

After getting into the Hero Course and weathering the storm of congratulations from his friends and extended family, he then had to endure the coddling and subsequent "marshmallow hell" that came with having an army of Onee-samas that knew where he lived.

He'd had five years to get used to such treatment, but once puberty hit, things started getting a little… weird, to say the least.

He was-of-course relentlessly _teased_ for his physical... ahem, _cues_ , but that was a story for another day.

Moving on, or rather, moving _out_ was the next course of action he had to take.

Since he was now part of the Hero Course, a curriculum which was more-intensive than the General, his parents decided to get him an apartment in Musutafu so he'd be closer to Yuuei.

When his Onee-samas chimed in saying his parents were pushing him out of the house so they could "bang like horny teenagers", he promptly applied 2 ccs of brain bleach and a copious amount of "fuck this shit I'm out" before capping it off with a sufficient amount of cranial trauma via nearby concrete wall.

The imagery their words brought about would haunt him until the treatment took hold.

Getting an apartment in Musutafu so he'd have a shorter commute to school, and thus have more free time to invest in his studies –"and meeting a nice girl to bring home" as his mother (and Onee-samas) teased- was actually pretty easy. Between the reputation of the Ares Idol Agency and his own claim to fame, the landlord being an avid fan of the Yuuei Sports Festival to boot, it was actually pretty easy getting everything together, even on such short notice.

Of course, the _real_ surprise came when he found out who his _neighbor_ was.

 _ ***FLASHBACK***_

"Uraraka-senpai!?"

"Gokiburi-san?!"

"Wait, you live here _too_?!" the two gawped in unison when they happened to pass one another on the walkway the following morning.

 _ ***FLASHBACK END***_

So yeah, suffice it to say, they were _both_ quite shocked by that development.

Almost as shocked as Ochako was when she saw Genki's father for the first time and how much he had to stoop down so he'd fit through the door.

All in all, having a classmate for a neighbor definitely made the transition easier, being away from home for the first time, though Genki was understandably reluctant to let Uraraka into his apartment where she might see the obligatory Idol Girl memorabilia he'd accumulated over the years.

Of course, when he heard the girl moaning about her empty fridge and a lack of coupons for the supermarket through the wall, the oily-haired teen buckled like a wet sock, and he invited the adorable cinnamon roll over for dinner.

 _ ***FLASHBACK***_

"So many animal ears!" Ochako gawped as she beheld the double-wide idol girl poster on the main wall, featuring the entire original roster of the idol group **ANM48**.

"That _is_ kinda their selling point, yes," Genki replied as he whipped up some fried rice for the two.

"And wait, are these… autographs? One… two…" the brunette counted for several seconds before exclaiming- "Forty-eight signatures? Wow, you must be a huge _idol girl_ fan, huh, Gokiburi-san?" she teased.

"Please, call me Genki. 'Gokiburi-san' is my _father_ ," reiterated. "Also my mother, but that's beside the point," he tacked on.

There was also the fact she was literally calling him "Cockroach", but he decided not to guilt-trip her over _that_ semantic.

"Anyway, my parents _manage_ ANM48, so of course it'd be easy to get all of their signatures at the same time."

"Wait, your parents run an idol group?"

" _Several_ , actually," Genki clarified. "After my dad retired from being a Hero, originally it was just going to be a _talent_ agency, but a few things led to it being known as an _idol_ agency instead. They still manage _other_ kinds of talent, but running idol groups has become the family signature."

"Whoa, no _wonder_ your room looks so girly!" the brunette said seeing the various posters, figurines, and CDs scattered around. Most of which were Limited Edition by their very nature.

"I prefer to think of it as appreciating the art form," Genki muttered as he worked, unappreciative of his room being called "girly".

"Gomen. Gomen. I shouldn't say that about the room of the person feeding me," Ochako apologized, sniffing the air. "Mm! Home cooking! Smells great!" she said with a beaming smile.

 _ ***Growrrrrrrr***_

"Yeah, I noticed," Genki chuckled as the girl's stomach rumbled. "It'll still be a few minutes until I'm done, so you can watch some TV if you're bored."

"Arigatou!" the brunette said appreciably, a beautific smile on her face that shone like a 1000-watt bulb.

"That girl is going to have a _lot_ of rabid fanboys when she goes pro," Genki hummed as he worked.

If he didn't already have eyes on one of his new classmates, he may've fallen for the girl next door then-and-there.

 _ ***FLASHBACK END***_

Of course, when the girl's parents showed up the next day to congratulate her for how she did in the Sports Festival, Genki decided to see himself out of the apartment to give them _some_ semblance of privacy.

It felt like he was intruding on a tender moment to be honest.

Since he had the whole day off until tomorrow, he decided to wander around Musutafu for a bit, seeing as how it'd be his new stomping grounds for the next three years.

 _ ***FLASHBACK***_

"Huh. I can barely tell this place was razed to the _ground_ a year ago," Genki hummed as he looked down the main thoroughfare of the Tatooin Shopping District.

In the travel guide it said that a high-end "Sludge Villain" caused the destruction, and that All Might beat him with a single punch. There was also some stuff about a couple middle-schoolers, but most of that had been glossed over completely when it referenced how most of the original stores had been built back up with only a few being replaced by chains.

Of course, in an age where _anyone_ with a pulse could get decent Villain Insurance for their business and/or property, it only made sense that after what happened, the businesses in the shopping district had been able to rebuild with relatively little hassle. The fact it was _ostensibly_ a Villain that caused the destruction made it easier for the paperwork to clear, so no-one really got _shafted_ by the yen-pinchers.

It could be argued that insurance companies _too_ were cabals of villains, but the same could be said of lawyers and _other_ occupations with such negative connotations.

"Hm. I see some family-run shops here, a couple specialty stores too…" Genki hummed as he walked down the way, practically invisible in his chosen attire.

After being pestered by pedestrians endlessly at the grocery store the moment someone recognized him from TV the day before, until things from the Sports Festival died down, he'd decided to wear a hoodie and a white surgical mask to hide his features whenever he was out in the open like this.

"Hey, did you guys see the Sports Festival on TV?"

"You kidding? I watch it every year!"

"That Genki kid was so fast, and the way he blasted everyone back in the Cavalry Battle was badass!"

' _Even though I know it'll die down after a while… I still can't help but feel embarrassed by this,'_ Genki thought, blushing under his mask.

"Still, his Quirk's kinda _creepy_ ," another muttered. "The way he scuttles around the floor like some kind of _bug_. Ewww!"

' _Of course that's what it comes down to. That's_ always _what it comes down to,'_ Genki grumbled to himself, his mood sufficiently soured as he doubled his pace, putting as much distance between him and the shopping center as he could.

He didn't bother paying their talk any further mind. It was all stuff he'd heard before.

 _ ***FLASHBACK END***_

Grabbing an updated map of the shopping district on the way out, the _real_ kicker for his walking tour of Musutafu was the place he'd visited next.

 _ ***FLASHBACK***_

"Holy CRAP BASKETS!" Genki gawped as he stared at white sands and blue water. "THIS PLACE IS _GORGEOUS_!"

In the past, the Dagobah Municipal Beach Park had been considered an eyesore, accumulating mountains of trash brought in by the tide over years of illegal dumping, turning the once-beautiful beach spot into a trash heap.

However, a year ago, the locals started to notice the piles were actually getting _smaller_.

At first, most wrote it off as the garbage finding a sinkhole to settle into, but as the months went by and the trash continued to disappear, patches of white sand steadily coming into view, it eventually became known that someone was actually _cleaning_ the beach.

No-one really stepped forward to take credit, and no-one else sought to get involved since "someone else will handle it", but after ten months of garbage disappearing, the local newspaper announced that the Dagobah Municipal Beach Park had been returned to its former splendor, the reinvigorated popularity turning the area into a popular dating spot. Following that, any trash that came in was carted off almost-immediately once people were reminded just what could be _lost_ if the past were allowed to repeat itself.

Thanks to the renewed interest in the area, the coast guard had even invested more money into stopping illegal dumping, and as a consequence creating job-opportunities for water-versed Heroes who couldn't cut it in the big city.

"I read about this place in the travel guide, but holy _crap_ the pictures don't do this place justice," Genki awed as he beheld its splendor. "Hm?" he hummed as he spotted a familiar head of curly green hair in the distance. "Midoriya? Midoriya, is that you?"

"G-Gokiburi-san?" Izuku yelped like the boy with his hand caught in the cookie jar.

No, seriously, his hand was _literally_ caught in a perfectly-good cookie jar someone had tossed out.

But no, _seriously_ , who the fuck _does that_?!

 _'People throw away the weirdest crap,'_ Genki thought idly to himself.

"W-What're _you_ doing here?" Izuku stammered amidst the oily-haired teen's thoughts.

"Please, call me Genki. 'Gokiburi-san' is my _father_ ," the oily-haired teen replied. "Anyway, I just moved into town after getting into the Hero Course, so I was walking around to get a feel of the place. What're _you_ doing here?"

"I-I'm just sweeping the beach," the curly-haired teen answered. "No matter how unglamorous it is, being a hero is all about _volunteer_ work," he said, audibly quoting someone else since his level of confidence didn't really match the implied passion of the words he was speaking.

"Hey, you don't need to explain yourself to _me_ , it's _good_ to have pride in your community," Genki said waving his hands. "I'm surprise to see you up on your feet so soon," he said glancing at the boy's arms where two hearty casts once laid.

"Y-Yes, well, I visited Recovery Girl a couple times over the break after getting some rest," Izuku answered. "So, you're living here now?"

"Pretty much, yeah. You local?"

"Yeah, my whole life."

"Cool. That means you can tell me about all the local hot spots."

"N-No, not really. To be honest, I was a bit of an _introvert_ …" the teen waved off.

"Oh, that's too bad," Genki said rubbing the back of his head. "In all seriousness though, this place is _gorgeous_. No wonder it's such a hot dating spot," he said looking down the way, spying a couple walking along hand-in-hand.

"Y-Yeah. Makes me really glad someone cl-cleaned it up," Izuku stammered, unable to meet the Mutant teen's eyes.

" . . . You _know_ something, _don't_ you?" Genki asked after a moment.

"What? N-No, of course I don't! W-Why would you say _that_?"

"Because you're a really bad liar," Genki replied, causing the greenette to wince. "Not that that's a _bad_ thing, but it isn't necessarily _good_ either," he added. "It's really telling that I can already see that after _just_ meeting you."

"W-Well, I've always been honest to a fault, I guess," Izuku replied, remembering the scolding he'd received from… _someone_.

"Hey, like I said, there's nothing _wrong_ with being honest, but if you can't even bluff your way out of a bad situation or buy yourself a little time, the villains'll walk all _over_ you," Genki replied. "The Hero Association doesn't really like to talk about it since it makes the PR department look bad, but it's the heroes with _guile_ that live while the straight-laced ones get killed. Or worse."

"H… Hai…" Izuku said dejectedly.

"Try not to think of it as _lying_ , try to think of it as… historical non-fiction," he paused as he groused for the right word.

"Historical non-fiction… Yeah, yeah I guess that makes sense," Izuku said with a nod. _"If lying is considered the conscious act of fabricating the truth, then the mentality of telling a_ story _would logically make it easier for a person_ to _fabricate the truth, thus resulting in less_ tells _being present as…"_

"Oi. Izu-bozu," Genki said chopping the lad on the head. "You're doing the thing again. The really _creepy_ thing. Stop it."

"H-Hai! Gomen!" the greenette apologized with a flush.

"And seriously, show some _backbone_. The meek don't make for good heroes, have a little _confidence_. You made it into the top eight of the Sports Festival, that's nothing to scoff at."

"M-Maybe, but you actually _won_ , and you weren't even part of the Hero Course until a couple days ago. You really _are_ amazing, Goki-"

"HN?!"

"G-Genki!" the greenette corrected as dark brown eyes on him turned edge-hard. "You really are amazing, _Genki_!"

"Much better," he said ruffling the shorter teen's hair. "So, you here cleaning the beach like before?"

"Y-Yes-"

"I knew it!"

"Ah! Wait!" Izuku yelped realizing he'd been played. "Please don't tell anyone! I didn't clean the beach for the attention, I did it for…"

"Say no more. You don't need a reason to care about your community," Genki waved off as the couple down the way got closer. "Nice to know I have someone so-trustworthy as a classmate. Makes me less-nervous about being in 1-A."

"I… I see…" Izuku returned, letting out a relieved sigh. "By the way, what's with the mask?"

"What, _this_?" he asked tugging at the mask dangling from his neck. "Oh, you know, people pestering me the moment they recognized me. How about you? Anyone pester _you_ since your television debut?"

"O-Only a _few_ people," Izuku returned.

"Well, just don't let it get to your head. Fame's like snow. It's nice while it's here, but quick to disappear. I've seen plenty of Heroes get full of themselves after their fifteen minutes of fame only to self-destruct _horribly_ when they stop being relevant and are the last ones to know."

"I-I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

"Hey! Isn't that Gokiburi Genki from the Sports Festival?!"

"CRAP!" Genki yelped. "Sorry kid, gotta run!"

The next moment Izuku ate sand.

 _ ***FLASHBACK END***_

Of course, that wasn't to say that what happened next wasn't _also_ quite entertaining.

 _ ***FLASHBACK***_

Dropping by the grocery store to grab a few more ingredients, maybe a utensil or two, as he skimmed the selection of bento boxes, a familiar durian-like head of hair came into view around the corner.

 _'Geez, that guy really_ does _have 'Zero Chill',_ ' Genki noted as he watched Bakugou fume like a rabid animal. Even while grocery shopping.

And yet, despite how much pestering a classmate could backfire on him in the long run, the Mutant teen couldn't help but poke the bear.

"Hey, aren't you that explosion guy who got punched repeatedly in the face?" Genki asked, deepening his voice so Bakugou wouldn't recognize him.

"YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU!"

Obviously, the ruse worked.

"Whoopwhoopwhoopwhoopwhoop!"

Genki was out the door before Bakugou could even clear the aisle.

The utensils would have to wait another day.

 _ ***FLASHBACK END***_

However, almost too fast to count, Genki's two days off came to an end, and it was back to business as usual, just with a few add-ons.

"Ah! Crap! Spent too long reminiscing!" Genki yelped as he scrambled for his schoolbag. "I'm going to be late! Very very late!" he cried as he bolted out the door as fast as his legs would carry him.

Since he was a Mutant-Type, the police wouldn't hassle him so hard for Improper Quirk Usage since telling a speedy Mutant not to run was like telling a fish not to swim.

Gotta love them loopholes.

 _ ***MHA***_

 **AN:  
Originally, the next chapter after the last one was going to be an abridgement of Genki's two-day break and preparations before getting into the Hero Routine at 1-A (where everyone would've gotten their Hero Names for their Internships), but after writing in where he moved in next door to Uraraka I decided to flush out Genki's perspective of Musutafu a bit since it's going to be his stomping grounds for the next three years.**

 **And no, before anyone asks, I don't plan on shipping Genki with Ochako just because she's the "girl next door" now. The idea came from watching Uraraka's reunion with her parents as I went back over the manga, and the whole thing is meant to be played off as coincidence. Also, since I didn't shoehorn him into Izuku and Katsuki's lives from the very beginning, it made more sense that prior to Yuuei he didn't live in Musutafu, and moving into an apartment similar to some of the other students simply made the most** _ **practical**_ **sense.**

 **It also opens up plenty of story opportunities to have him acquainted with the locals.**

 **Tell me what you think of the dialogue in the Review Section.**

 **GO BEYOND!**

 **EXCELSIOR!**


	14. It's in a Name

**Ragnas Bredvolts:** Did you just reference Hellsing Abridged?

 **NeoNazo356:** YES. I. DID.

 **Silversun XD:** I LOVED it! I especially likes the Bakugo grocery run. That was hilarious. I liked the three stooges reference as well.

 **NeoNazo356:** The intent was to reference Alucard from Hellsing Abridged (by TeamFourStar), but since Alucard was referencing the Three Stooges _himself_ , yes in a way I referenced them.

 **guest (Guest):** guest:Any chance you'd be willing to hook Genki and Mina up?

 **NeoNazo356:** We'll have to wait and see.

 **KitsuneDragon:** An alright cool down chapter so there's not much to comment on. Also just curious as to why you chose to name some of the places after Star Wars planets?

 **NeoNazo356:** No, that's Kosei Horikoshi's thing. Several locations in MHA take reference from Star Wars, and in the manga there are Marvel/DC cues taken as well. Also, there's references to Mario, Alien, and I think Robo-Cop.

 _ ***MHA***_

"I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIIIS!" Genki cried as he ran through the rain to Yuuei, countless pedestrians that recognized him trying to pull him aside and give their congratulations, or even ask for autographs. "LATER! RIGHT NOW I'VE GOT TO GET TO CLASS!" he found himself justifying as he kicked up plumes of water in his wake. "YOU THERE!"

"H-Hai?"

"I'LL TRADE AN AUTOGRAPH FOR YOUR UMBRELLA! YOU GAME?"

"Hey, you're the guy from the-"

"I KNOW I'M FROM THE SPORTS FESTIVAL! YOU WANT THAT AUTOGRAPH OR NOT?!"

"S-sure, here you go," the pedestrian said passing his umbrella and a memo pad. After getting the name scribbled down and the memo pad shoved into his coat, the oily-haired teen was off once again.

"GLAD YUUEI HAS THIS LONG WINDING ROAD!" Genki said as he zig-zagged up the hill toward Yuuei, his umbrella held up like a shield, and bystanders in his wake almost having their umbrellas inverted as he passed them. "THERE! THE GATE!"

"THIS IS NO TIME FOR AN IDLE STROLL! WE'LL BE LATE! GOOD MORNING, MIDORIYA!" Iida said as he bolted past the greenette.

"Late? But we've got five minutes before the first bell," Izuku replied.

"IF YOU AREN'T EARLY, YOU'RE _LATE_!" Genki said as he overtook the two.

"YES! _HE_ HAS THE RIGHT IDEA! THE STUDENTS OF YUUEI SHOULD MAKE IT A POINT TO ARRIVE TEN MINUTES EARLY!" Iida said voicing his heartfelt agreement.

Swapping out his wet shoes at the footlockers, Genki proceeded to zip through the halls with all the speed and agility his Quirk gave him.

Even though he still had five minutes until first bell, it was still too close for comfort, especially with what was now at stake.

Rumor had it, Aizawa had _expelled_ students for lesser reasons than being late.

And that was when he _wasn't_ expelling entire class-worths of students for arbitrary reasons like "having zero potential" or something to that effect.

 _ ***MHA***_

"I had all these people talking to me on the way here!" Mina whooped excitedly.

"Same here! So many stares… it was embarrassing!" Toru added.

"Me too!" Kirishima whooped.

"All these grade schoolers told me I made a good effort," Sero sighed.

"Good effort," Tsuyu hummed consolingly.

"Glad _you guys_ are having a good time. Ever since the Sports Festival, people have been pestering me for pictures and autographs. I had to bundle up with a hood and a surgical mask just to buy _groceries_ without being molested," Genki grumbled, his antennae drooping significantly.

"Well, that's just the price you have to pay for the big splash you made," Tsuyu hummed. "All in all, though, you definitely _earned_ it."

"Thanks, Tsu. I feel much better," Genki said as his expression brightening, antennae perking up like a plant given water.

"Still, one little event and suddenly the world's got its eye on us," Shoji hummed.

"That's Yuuei for you," Ojiro added.

"Morning," Aizawa cut in, everyone zipping to their desks without a skipped beat.

"Good to see your bandages off, Aizawa-sensei," Tsuyu chirped as everyone greeted him good morning.

"The old lady's treatment was excessive, but never mind that. Today we've got Hero Informatics class. And a special one at that," Aizawa said tiredly. "Today, you'll be coming up with your hero aliases."

"HOW AWESOME! TIME TO SHINE!" most-everyone whooped.

' _Glad Mineta wasn't here for that last outburst,'_ Genki hummed with a flushed face from the grape-headed teen's former seat.

When Mina had _literally_ jumped for joy, Genki had gotten a brief flash of the tantalizing contrast between white panties against light-pink skin.

In the back of his mind, he couldn't help but notice the girl had strong, thick thighs.

 _'Damn you brain_ _… Damn you hormones_ _…'_ he growled as the carnal part of his consciousness pondered what it'd be like to put his _head_ between those thighs.

"But first… Concerning the pro draft picks I mentioned the other day…" Aizawa spoke up, the more conscientious of the glass shushing their peers. "It's based on who the pros think will be ready to join the Hero workforce after another two or three years of experience, so you could say it's a way for them to show an interest in your futures," he explained. "However, there's ample time for their interest in you to wane before you graduate, and any and all offers can be arbitrarily revoked. It happens quite often."

' _For some reason, I can't help but find myself wondering what_ Mineta _would say at a time like this,'_ Genki hummed.

He still felt a bit guilt about metaphorically and _literally_ stealing away his seat in Yuuei's 1-A, but hopefully helping him transfer to another school would help smooth things over in the future.

"So if we're picked now, that just means there'll be higher hurdles in the years to come?" Toru asked.

"Yes. Now, here are the complete draft pick numbers," Aizawa said tapping the remote in his pocket, the automatic blackboard at his back suddenly becoming alight with the **CLASS A DRAFT PICK TOTALS**.

Unsurprisingly, Gokiburi's total was the highest at a whopping **4,356** agencies. After that was Todoroki at an equally-impressive **4,123** , Bakugou immediately after with a similarly impressive **2,987**. However, after the first three, the numbers took a significant dip with Tokoyami only scoring **360** agencies in contrast to his peers in the quadruple-digits, **301** for Iida, **272** for Kaminari, a contextually-significant dip of **108** for Yaoyarozu, another significant dip for Kirishima at **68** , and **20** for Uraraka as the lowest on-board.

"Typically, there's more of a _spread_ in this sort of thing, but our top three stole most of the spotlight. Gokiburi more than anyone else because people love a good underbug story," Aizawa added.

"I'll just pretend I didn't hear that," Genki grumbled with a flat stare.

"Gah! They're in a whole other league!" Kaminari whined.

"Gokiburi," Todoroki hummed. "You made quite the first impression. Congratulations."

"Ah, thanks. Your numbers are pretty nice too," Genki replied, his antennae perking back up as he scratched te back of his head.

"It's mostly just my father's influence," the stoic teen hummed. " _Your_ father's been retired for several years now, so this interest is a result of _your_ hard work. Not his."

"Yes, well done," Momo added.

"Hey, don't sell yourself short, Yaoyarozu-senpai! Your Quirk's _super_ -amazing, you just had a bad matchup is all," Genki said reassuringly, sending the girl his best winning smile and a confident thumbs-up.

"S-Senpai…?" Momo replied with a flushed face and sparkling eyes as she brought delicate hands up to her mouth.

 _'Huh. Guess that put more spring in her step than I thought,'_ Genki thought idly as the girl beamed.

"Whoa! I made it!" Uraraka whooped as she shook Iida's shoulder.

"Yes, yes," Iida nodded.

"With that settled, whether or not you were picked, you will _all_ receive a chance to work alongside the pros," Aizawa cut in, everyone not on the board perking up. "It's true that barring one exception, you've all already experienced more than most, but seeing the pros in action and taking part yourselves will still be worthwhile training."

"That's where our Hero Names come in!" Sato whooped.

"This is really getting _fun_!" Uraraka cheered.

"They're only tentative, but I still want you all to pick something _appropriate_ -"

"OR ELSE YOU'LL KNOW _TRUE_ HELL!" Midnight cut in as she barged into the room. "The name you pick _now_ may be what the world ends up _calling_ you. That's happened to plenty of pros out there!"

"Midnight!" everyone gawked, the boys moreso as aforementioned R-Rated Hero strode into the room, strutting her stuff and popping her hips as she ran her fingers through an impressively-kept mane of ebony black hair.

From first-hand experience -of helping brush the hair of his Onee-samas both before and after practice and even shows-, Genki knew how high-maintenance hair like that could be.

"Is it weird that I'm already used to stuff like this?" Genki muttered aloud, his voice drowned out by his peers as Midnight soaked in the male adulation.

"Yes. True enough. And Midnight here will be assessing the sensibility of the names you pick. _I'm no good at that,_ " Aizawa hummed as an afterthought. "What future do you see for yourself?" the man questioned as he pulled his sleeping bag out from the podium. "The name you choose will bring you ever closer to cementing a certain image, because names are capable of reflecting one's true character. Like with 'All Might'."

 _'I… Imomushi?'_ Genki gawped with antennae perked up at odd angles as the man's yellow sleeping back was zipped up to his neck, and the man flopped over on his left side to take a nap.

Amidst his thoughts, Midnight passed dry-erase boards and markers along the front of each row, which were then passed back.

"So… My first assignment in Yuuei's Hero Informatics class…" Genki hummed as he received his placard. _'I can't afford to mess this up!'_

 _ ***MHA***_

15 minutes later…

"Let's finish up. We can start with whoever's ready!" Midnight announced.

' _Well…_ Someone's _got guts…'_ Genki thought to himself as the foreigner strode up to the podium, a confident swagger in his stride.

Come to think of it, since he hadn't even made it into the Cavalry Battle _proper_ , this would actually be the _most_ Genki saw of the blond gaijin.

"Here I go…" Aoyama said pinching the corners of his board. "Shining Hero: 'I Cannot Stop Twinkling'!" he proclaimed as he held it aloft.

"It's a whole sentence!" everyone gawked, Genki slapping his forehead in a typical facepalm.

"Here, it'll be easier to say if you take out the 'I' and contraction 'cannot' into 'can't'," Midnight said making the necessary corrections.

"A, merci, mademoiselle!"

"Okay, I'm next!" Mina whooped. "Call me The Ridley Hero: _Alien Queen_!" she said with a broad smile.

"From the sequel?! Is it because her blood was super acidic?! That's _terrible_!" Midnight cried as she rejected the name.

"Tch," Mina groaned, clicking her tongue as she trudged back to her desk.

"Can I go next, please, kero?" Tsuyu croaked. "I've had this thought out since elementary school. Call me the Rainy Season Hero: Froppy," she said with a frog-like smile.

"Kawaii! It makes you sound like you'd be easy to get to know!" everyone gawped, Genki settling for flushing at how-adorable his fellow Mutant was, his kokoro going * _ **doki-doki**_ * in his chest.

"The rest of you, take note. This is a perfectly lovable name!" Midnight announced gleefully.

 _ ***Bam***_ "This is me! The Sturdy Hero: Red Riot!" Kirishima said proudly.

"Red Riot! Could this be an homage to the Chivalrous Hero: _Crimson_ Riot?" Midnight asked.

"Yeah! I know he's from back in the day, but Crimson's the kind of Hero I wanna be," the redhead admitted.

"Heh heh… Just know that bearing the name of your personal Hero comes with a lot of pressure," Midnight said with a kind smile.

"I'm ready for that!" Kirishima said pumping a fist.

"I'm next!" Kaminari said stepping up. "You may call me the Gold Striker: Stunvolt!"

"Hey wait, is that a reference to the _Azure_ Striker: _Gun_ volt?" Genki asked, antennae perked straight up into twin **?** -marks atop his head.

"Oh, you know him?" Kaminari asked with a raised brow.

Since Gunvolt was still an _up-and-coming_ Hero, freshly-graduated from Yuuei, his name was only known among a very _niche_ following. Mainly budding electric-users and those whose lives had been directly -or even _in_ directly- impacted by the blond hero's acts of heroism.

"Yeah. He's renting office space out of my dad's agency in Akihabara until he has the clout to start his _own_ agency. He helps protect the idols on the side whenever any of the fans get too… _villainous_."

"Oh! Think you could get me his autograph?" he asked excitedly. "We actually went to the same middle school, and he was so _cool_ when I saw him on TV at the Sports Festival!"

"Sure, I'll ask the next time I see him," Genki replied, the electric blond giving an appreciative nod. "Actually, if you _like_ , I could give him a call after class, see if he'd be willing to take you on for the week as an _Intern_ ," he offered.

"Holy cow, you'd really _do_ that?!" the blond asked excitedly with wide eyes.

"Sure. What's the point of networking if you don't help your friends?" Genki asked smoothly.

"Dude, you are my _hero_!" Kaminari said wrapping the oily-haired teen in a hug.

"Wow, you're a real _fan_ of GV, aren't you?" Genki asked giving an awkward one-two pat.

"Are you kidding? Of _course_ I am!" the [Electrification] wielder replied ecstatically. "Not only is he an electric-type like me, but he's also super-strong, _and_ super-popular with the _ladies_ ~" he said waggling a brow. "Hey, I gotta ask, are he and Lumen, _you_ know…~" he said holding up his pinkie and giving it a suggestive waggle.

"Pretty sure that's none of your business," Genki said with a flat expression, antennae drooped parallel to the floor. "Do you want me to call him or _not_?"

"Y-Yes please!" Kaminari said bowing his head, hands clasped, afraid Genki might _retract_ his earlier offer.

After that, the subsequent unveiling of epithets and aliases went on largely uneventfully.

"The Hearing Hero: Earphone Jack!"

"The Tentacle Hero: Tentocole."

"The Taping Hero: Cellophane!"

"The Stealth Hero: Invisible Girl!" Toru squealed striking a pose… or maybe _half_ a pose since… you know.

"The Martial Arts Hero: T-Tailman," Ojiro announced, sounding as though something weird had ghosted over his tongue.

"Copycat," Sato grumbled as he held up his placard, displaying **Sweets Hero: Sugarman**.

"You're all doing great! Let's keep 'em coming!" Midnight whooped.

"Pinky!" Mina cried angrily.

"Great!" Midnight whooped.

 _ ***BAM***_

 **"MATTA!"**

"When did this become a _courtroom_ drama?" Sero asked as Genki suddenly rose from his seat, a finger pointed poignantly at the front of the room, his shout whipping Midnight's hair back.

"Mina, don't you _dare_ compromise!" the oily-haired teen shouted as he slicked his hair straight-backwards like a certain male lead of his own game series and live-action TV drama.

"Gen-kun?" she asked with wide eyes at her former opponent's outburst.

"The first pick you had was an _amazing_ hero name! Don't give it up just because _one pervert_ gets creeped out by it!" the oily-haired teen said, nay, _ordered_ harshly. "Do you really want to go around being called ' _Pinky'_ for the rest of your life?!" he said slamming his palm into his desk twiceover, resounding into the nearby rooms and causing Aizawa to grimace in discomfort. "I refuse to acknowledge someone so- _amazing_ using something so… so… _juvenile_!" he proclaimed passionately with vigor equal if not _surpassing_ that shown by a certain [Engine]-calved peer.

" . . . You're right!" Mina realized, changing her Hero Name to what is was originally. "This is the name I want to choose for myself! I don't care what anyone else thinks!" she proclaimed as she held up her original choice.

"Well, if an adoring fan is so vocal about it, how can I refuse?" Midnight asked with a sigh. "However!" she said snapping her whip out at Genki. "I must rebuke you, for I am not just some pervert! I am… A SUUUPER PERVERT! OH~HOHOHOHOHO!" she proclaimed as she laughed heartily.

"Of course _you'd_ say that," Genki grumbled as she laughed like an Ojou-sama from an anime.

"Okay, just for that, YOU'RE NEXT!" Midnight declared, putting him on the spot.

"Ha, sucks to be you, I _already_ have my Hero Name!" Genki said with a grin.

"Curses, foiled again…!" Midnight growled under her breath, albeit jokingly, as Genki made his way to the front of the room.

"Classmates. Friends. Baka-gou."

"Up yours!"

" _This_ …" Genki said as he propped his placard up on the podium with his marker and a _touch_ of oil, "shall by Hero Name!" he declared as he then struck a pose that wouldn't be out-of-place in front of a color-coded smoke bomb and/or gasoline explosion. Maybe a catchy musical theme if it was within-budget.

 **The Devil Bug Hero: Genkiburi**

"Oooh! Your father's old epithet with a new twist!" Midnight squealed in recognition of the old epithet given new life. "So _cute_!" she chirped happily at the added alias.

"Thanks," Genki replied with a nervous smile. "Since my Quirk has a bit of a _negative_ connotation to it, I decided to go for the ' _cute'_ angle to take the edge off, help widen the fanbase. Plus it helps that I take after my mother," he added with a tilt of the head, a wink, and a stuck-out tongue from one corner of his mouth.

 **Genki used Charm.**

"Hm, yes, aesthetics _are_ paramount for the popularity of a Hero," Midnight nodded with a blush on her face.

 **It was super-effective!**

"That… and my Onee-samas wouldn't let me hear the end of it if I went with something too _edgelord_ -y," he said with a resigned expression, antennae drooping slightly as he let out an exasperated sigh.

"All _very_ valid reasons," Midnight said with another sagely nod as she recovered from his earlier attack.

"I'd be able to take you more seriously if you weren't dressed like Stripperella," he then replied curtly.

"I'll take that as a compliment, Gen-chan~" Midnight replied with a wink.

"Please don't…"

"So, _Onee-samas_ , huh?" Sero asked with a waggling brow as he leaned forward on one elbow, inserting himself into the line of dialogue taking place.

"Are they _hot_?" Kaminari asked hopefully, following suit.

"They work at an Idol Girl agency. What do _you_ think?" Genki asked bluntly, trickles of blood running down the two's noses much to the consternation of their female peers. "Keep it together, you perverts. You'd never make it past the bouncers in anything short of a body bag. Full-body cast if you're _lucky_."

"Yeah, are you trying to make up for the fact that Mineta's gone?" Mina asked with a pout.

"Can we please move on from this discussion? I _immediately_ regret bringing this up," Genki said hanging his head in abject shame.

"Ahem," Momo spoke up. "I hope to do justice by this name," as she took her place at the podium.

"How creative!" Midnight squealed in response to the **Everything Hero: Creati** placard.

"Shoto."

"Just your name?! Really?!"

"Yes."

"The Jet-Black Hero: Tsukuyomi."

"God of the night!"

 **Petting Hero: Anima**

"So cute!"

"King Explosion Murder."

"No good. Try again."

"What the hell?!"

"Okay, my turn…" Uraraka said nervously. "This is what I came up with," she said raising her placard, a more-prominent blush than usual blossoming across her cheeks.

 **Uravity**

"How punny!" Midnight squealed. "Well, this went smoother than expected! All that's left is Bakugou's revision, Iida, and then Midoriya."

" . . . "

 _'That guy looks like he's dealing with something really_ heavy _,'_ Genki thought, catching the teen's strained visage sidelong. _'His hand… it's trembling…'_

"Tenya."

"You too, huh? Just your name…" Midnight sighed less-than-enthused as the glasses-wearing teen held up his placard.

" . . . "

"?!"

"Huh? You sure about that, Midoriya?" Midnight asked as the greenette raised his placard, a confused look on her face.

"Yeah. I always hated it, but then someone helped me see it in a new light. It took me by surprise, but… it made me really happy," Izuku said with a gentle look in his eyes. " _This_ will be my Hero Name."

"Oohhh…" Genki hummed aloud. "So _you're_ the 'Deku' that got voted for the other day."

"Huh?" Bakugou growled, a WTF expression on his face while Uraraka's brightened.

" . . . I don't get it," the oily-haired teen hummed after a few moments of deep contemplation.

A moment later, Bakugou stepped forward with his revision.

"LORD EXPLOSION MURDER!"

"No. Still no good."

"Boo! Get off the stage!"

"You think _you_ can do _better_?!" Bakugou raged at the oily-haired teen who heckled him.

"You could call yourself _'Kacchan',_ " Genki answered with a smarmy grin, his victory over the explosive teen in _particular_ doing wonderful things for his confidence and self-worth. "Help you revitalize that dying _fanbase_ of yours."

"Ooh! So _cute_!" Midnight cooed. "I like it!"

"You dead _motherfucker_!"

"Calm your non-tits, testosterone breath, I was only joking," Genki said with a flippant wave of his hand. " . . . The Explosion Hero: Ground Zero."

" . . . Holy crap that's _awesome_!" Kirishima gawped with wide eyes.

"Hardcore…" Jiro nodded.

"A powerful name indeed," Tokoyami hummed with crossed arms.

"So cool!" various other students exclaimed.

" . . . Damn, that _is_ good," Bakugou admitted, albeit begrudgingly as he changed his placard.

"Ooh! I _like_ it!" Midnight whooped in agreement. " _Very_ catchy."

"Shut up! Don't rub it in!" Bakugou growled as he returned to his seat. "Don't think this means I _owe_ you anything," he muttered over his shoulder as he sat down, deigning not to look back.

"Hey, do you hear that?" Genki asked raising his hand to his ear.

"Hear _what_?" Bakugou growled looking over aforementioned shoulder.

"That sound. The sound of all the fucks I don't give," Genki said looking off into the distance. "So _majestic_ ," he hummed as though watching migratory birds.

"Rrrgh…!" Bakugou growled as he stomped back to his seat.

 _ ***MHA***_

Once everyone's Hero Names had been recorded, Aizawa handed out the lists of drafts for everyone's internships. Apart from Gokiburi, Todoroki, and Bakugou who received entire _sheaves_ of paper filled top to bottom with names of agencies, everyone else received single-sheet lists for whatever agencies were taking "anyone with a pulse" that season.

"You got pretty far in the tourney, Ashido. It's _weird_ you didn't get drafted," Ojiro hummed.

"True…" Mina sighed. "Ne, Gokiburi-san-"

"Please, call me Genki. 'Gokiburi-san' is my father," Genki replied. " _Also_ my mother, but that's neither here nor there."

"Hai, _Genki_ ," Mina reiterated with a smile, still on cloud nine to have someone like her long-sought-after Hero Name as much as she did. "Do _you_ happen to have any cool Heroes on speed-dial I could intern with?" she asked looking at her list a little disdainfully.

"No-one _you_ would benefit from, I'm afraid," Genki replied. "My personal acquaintanceship with Heroes is kinda… _niche_ , I'm afraid."

"Oh… Okay…" Mina sighed dejectedly, her horns wilting slightly to match her expression.

" . . . Don't look at me like that."

"Look at you like _what_?" Mina asked cutely.

"That! The thing you're doing with your eyes!"

"What thing?" Mina asked as eyes of black and gold watered, her bottom lip quivering.

" . . . Alright, I give. I give," the Mutant teen sighed. "I'll give my mom a call, see if _she_ knows anyone from the old days," Genki sighed. "But don't hold your breath."

"Arigatou!" the pinkette squealed happily as she wrapped him up in a hug.

"Why even _ask_ me, anyway?" Genki asked as he gave the girl a one-two pat, blushing awkwardly as his hormones went into overdrive.

Let's just say it wasn't _only_ her thighs that were "thick".

"Well, Kaminari looked so _happy_ when you said you'd hook him up with this 'GV' guy, so I kinda hoped you could do the same for me," she admitted with a cheeky grin.

"Well, like I said, don't hold your breath _too_ long. You only have two days until the submission deadline, so you should probably pick an agency or two from the list just-in-case," Genki said pulling out his phone. "What about _you_? Who're _you_ going to intern with?" he asked turning to his neighbor.

"I'm signing on with the Battle Hero: Gunhead!"

"Gunhead? Seems a little… rough-and-tumble, I guess… Wait, is this because you lost to Bakugou the way you did?"

"Well, kinda," she admitted. "My fight in the Sports Festival got me thinking, getting stronger opens up all _sorts_ of possibilities, and doing the same old thing is kind of limiting… Or something," she admitted nervously as though she didn't fully know herself.

"Well, it _does_ help your marketability if you have a wider skillbase," Genki hummed thinking back on all the talk of _merchandising_ he had with his mother after he showed an interest in being a Hero. "Hey, Izuku, how about you-"

" _First I have to research these forty potential Heroes and divide them up based on thir specialties. Then, I'll look at the number of resolved incidents for each since his or her debut up until the present and determine which has the attributes that would be most informative for me as I am now… Such an important decision must be made carefully and without haste, so I'll also have to observe how each spends their time when not engaged in heroic operations…"_

" . . . Is he _always_ like this?" the oily-haired teen asked as Midoriya continued to murmur to himself.

"Yeah. It's like a _performance_ at this point," Ochako said with a smile.

"Well, to each their own I guess," he shrugged.

"Ne, Izuku, this might be a little off-topic, but a while ago I noticed, you've been trembling," Ochako said the greenette's way.

"Yeah… I'm practicing air chair."

"Air chair!" the others yelped.

"Well wadya know, he really _is_ doing air chair," Genki hummed as he stooped over.

"During class too?! That's crazy!" Sero yelped.

"Air chair? That's pretty old-school," Mina hummed.

"What're you saying?! Air chairing is a great way to train without moving cuz it works your muscles when they're contracted," Ojiro put in.

"W-What about _you_? Who're _you_ going to intern with?" Izuku asked hurriedly, hoping to pass the ball from being the center of attention.

"Me? Well…" Genki asked looking through his own sheaf of papers. "I guess I'll internship with… him," he said pointing to a name.

"Oh! The No.5 pro, the Ninja Hero: Edgeshot!" Izuku yelped. "Operating somewhere out of the Mie Prefecture, Edgeshot's signature **Thousand Sheet Pierce** lets him completely bypass a villain's defense to cut off blood flow and-"

 _ ***Thwack***_

"Itai!" Izuku yelped as his excited exposition was eradicated by a swift chop to the cranium.

"You're doing that thing again. Stop it."

"H… Hai…" Izuku whimpered as he nursed the spot atop his head. "But really, though, the No. 5 Hero. You really _do_ have the top picks of agencies, don't you?"

"Yeah. It's really flattering, actually," Genki admitted with a grin. "The only other Hero higher in the rankings who requested me was the No.3 Hero, Best Jeanist, but my Quirk doesn't really blend well with his, so I wrote him off right away," he admitted, scratching his cheek idly.

"Ah, is this because your saliva contains _cellulae_ , and thus would clash with his [Fiber Master] Quirk?"

"Got it in one," Genki replied. "That and him talking out of his _fly_ would weird me out in-person."

"Yeah, I guess it _would_ be kinda weird," Izuku admitted. " . . . Genki-san."

"Hai?"

"There's something else I've been meaning to ask you…"

"Well, what is it?"

"Your father…" the greenette began nervously, thinking back to the larger-than-life figure he'd witnessed sitting beside the oily-haired teen's mother back at the Sports Festival. "Five years ago for a month-long period he was the No.2 Hero, right…?" he trailed off, everyone's eyes going wide in shock; Bakugou's very _audible_ sputtering echoed through the room in place of a dropped pin. "Yet out of nowhere he retired suddenly… Can I ask _why_?"

"That's… a difficult subject for me," Genki answered as antennae drooped. "I'd rather not talk about it…" he said grabbing at his bicep, antennae drooping even _further_ if that was possible.

"Wait a minute, you mean it's _true_?" Kirishima gawped with wide eyes.

"Your dad really _was_ the No.2 Hero?" Mina gawped, eyes equally wide.

"Once upon a time… yes," Genki admitted with a tiny nod of his head. "Like I said, I'd rather not talk about it," he said looking away, a pained expression ghosting across eyes that refused to meet any other.

"Five years ago…" Todoroki hummed thoughtfully. "So _that's_ why he almost burned the house down back then…" he hummed idly, thinking back to the first time in _decades_ his father's rank had been usurped from him.

Suffice it to say, the man did _not_ take being bumped down well. Not in the slightest.

"Wait a minute, if your dad was the former No.2 Hero, how come you didn't get into Yuuei on recommendation?" Kirishima asked.

"More-importantly, how come no-one _remembers_ this?" Mina questioned.

"It happened five years ago, which is plenty of time for a Hero to fall out of public memory. Most of you would've been ten when that happened," Genki answered. "Hell, half the time people can't even remember a cat video after a _week_ has passed, let alone Heroes that retired _years_ ago," he tacked on. "Also, like I told Recovery Girl… I wanted to get into Yuuei on _my_ merits, not my father's. That… and I didn't want to put him through finding out he'd been a _has-been_ long-enough his good word _alone_ couldn't get me in…" he added morosely, a tired sigh leaving his lips causing Tsuyu to walk over and consolingly pat his back.

"Man, that's some heavy stuff," Kirishima said scratching his head.

"Sorry if we were inconsiderate," Mina added.

"It's fine, it's fine," Genki sighed.

"So… You said your parents run an _idol_ agency?" Sero asked with a grin, lightening the mood; or at least attempting to do so.

"Goooood… Why did I open my big mouth…?" Genki whined as he banged his head on the desk.

 _ ***MHA***_

 **AN:  
Personally, I think "The Ridley Hero: Alien Queen" was an AMAZING Hero Name, and getting bumped down (read: shafted) to **_**Pinky**_ **of all things… That just seems insulting to her potential, hence Genki (and by extension myself) spoke up on the matter.**

 **As for "The Explosion Hero: Ground Zero", I saw it on an AU FanComic on Pinterest where Izuku was a 119 (Japanese "911") responder and hung up to leave Bakugou hanging (for all the mental and _physical_ abuse he'd been put through in middle school), so that's also what I went with. Or at least that's how I remember it; I couldn't find it again to verify that.  
Also, from an aesthetic and symbolic standpoint, it seemed pretty cool.**

 **When it comes to Denki's name being changed from the canon "Stun Gun Hero: Chargebolt" to "Gold Striker: Stunvolt", the Hero he admires, "Azure Striker: Gunvolt", is a reference to the eponymous character of the** **Azure Striker Gunvolt** **franchise, the spiritual successor to the discontinued Mega Man franchise that was created by Keiji Inafune. The reason I chose **_**this**_ **Cameo is because the Septimal powers of this franchise aren't all that different than Quirks when you apply them to the Emitter/Transformation archetypes.  
I mean, I suppose the _Glaives_ could be considered Support Equipment similar to the [Quirk Amplification Device] from My Hero Academia: Two Heroes since most of the legit _transformations_ are equipment-based, but I don't want to go off on a tangent. So I won't.  
**

 **Also, for those of you not familiar with the** **Phoenix Wright** **/** **Turnabout Justice** **franchise, the declaration "Matta!" literally meaning "Back up!" is the Japanese version of "Hold it!"**


	15. Epic Meal Time

"Lunch could _not_ come soon enough," Genki said breaking away from his classmates the moment the lunch bell rang.

After the thing with his family's Idol Agency came up during homeroom, the boys pestered him almost _relentlessly_ about it. Which girls were dating? Which girls weren't? Who _wanted_ to?

Back in middle school, after his family's career change and when the fact got out that his family was managing mini-skirt-clad talent, the boys –and occasionally girls- who once completely rebuffed him pestered him in the same way, hoping to learn who was dating, who wasn't, and who _wanted_ to.

Those weaker-willed and with less self-esteem would've catered to their every whim for even a shred of social interaction, but since he'd known most of their true colors since elementary school, he knew they'd just toss him aside when they got what they wanted out of him.

So, he decided to make a game out of getting them to do favors for him only to give them fake numbers later on.

That or send them on a wild goose chase towards the girls with _really_ over-protective fathers and/or brothers who were in on the whole thing.

"Good times. Gooood times," Genki sighed wistfully. Spotting a familiar head of indigo hair, Genki was quick to zip over to him. "Yo, Hitoshi! Wanna sit together?"

"Genki. I'm surprised you aren't living it up with your friends from the _Hero_ Course," the downer teen replied with his usual dry wit.

"Please, there's only so much of them I can take all at once," Genki groaned after the morning _he'd_ had. "Besides, we're _friends_ , aren't we? And _real_ friends don't ditch one another because of something fickle like fifteen minutes of fame."

"Heh, that's actually pretty flattering."

"Glad to hear it," Genki said clapping the teen on the back. "So, the usual place?"

"Well hold on, since you're famous, can't you get us some prime real-estate?" Shinso asked with a quirked brow, jerking a thumb towards the tables by the windows.

"Couldn't you use your _Quirk_ to do the same thing?" Genki quipped.

"Please, like a whole table of people would be _that_ gullible."

"I dunno. People _can_ be pretty stupid sometimes. Even _if_ they know how your Quirk works."

"Don't remind me," Shinso groaned, still lamenting his loss to someone who knew exactly that.

"That aside… I've been bullied out of a good seat plenty of times, and let me tell you, it really _sucks_ ," Genki grumbled with drooped antennae. "I don't want to do that to anyone _else_."

"If it's Eatery _real-estate_ you're worried about, _I've_ got you covered!"

"H-Hatsume-san!" Genki yelped as the girl snuck up on him. _'Wait a minute,_ how _did she sneak up on me?!'_

"Please, call me Mei-chan!" the pinkette insisted.

"R-Right, M-Mei-chan!" Genki replied as the girl bore into him with big piercing eyes.

"So, what was this about you having real-estate covered?" Shinso asked with a quirked brow.

"I'm glad you asked!" Mei said grabbing the two by the wrists before dragging them off. "Behold, my babies number 16 through 20," she said gesturing to five motorized skeleton mannequins standing guard around one of the tables by the window. "They're _quintuplets_!"

"We noticed," Genki and Shinso hummed. The motorized mannequins moved in jerky, robotic motions, and whenever someone came nearby, they'd snap chattering jaws at them, sending the weaker-willed towards greener (read: less bony) pastures.

They didn't look _intimidating_ , but they were still creepy-as- _hell_ to look at.

"I see your taste in _friends_ is as stellar as always," Shinso hummed with a chuckle.

"Shove it, you're _my_ friend too you know," Genki bit back. "So… Why science lab mannequins?"

"Cuz it's cheaper than fabricating Terminator endoskeletons from _scratch_ ," Mei answered unashamedly as another pair of hapless students were chased away.

"Well… I mean, if no-one _voices_ their complaints…" Genki trailed off.

"Um, excuse me-"

"Move it, deadbeat!" Mei said without any _actual_ malice, chasing the Management Course student away as she waved some kind of tuning fork on _steroids_ at them. "So, you wanna eat together?"

"Well… I don't see why not…" Genki admitted, finding no real reason to turn the invitation down.

"So, how're them _gams_ doing?" Mei asked suddenly.

"My _legs_ , are perfectly fine," Genki replied with a flat, and awkward, expression.

"That's good. Gotta protect those _money_ makers!" she said glancing down at his legs.

"That would be a lot less creepy if you didn't have super-sight," Genki grumbled. He _swore_ he saw her pupils dilate like a camera lens.

Thankfully, the feeling of having his "gams" ogled went away as soon as he sat down.

Though that just left everything _above_ the waist to get ogled as the girl's telescopic eyes roved over every square centimeter.

 _"God, I feel like she's stripping me with her_ eyes _,"_ Genki shuddered as Mei stared at him unabashedly.

 _"Good thing her Quirk isn't [X-Ray Vision], otherwise_ no-one's _chastity would be safe,"_ Shinso hummed.

"What you talkin' about?"

"Nothing."/"Nothing!" Hitoshi and Genki both replied, albeit with different inflections.

"So, how ya doin'?" Mei asked, scarfing down her food in a very unladylike manner.

"I'm doing well. My costume should be ready by the afternoon class, so I'm pretty happy about that."

"Oh! Remember to come by the studio afterward in case we need to make any post-exercise adjustments," Mei reminded. "Oh! Again! Remember to tell your friends they're Hatsume Mei Originals!"

"Hai. I'll keep that in mind," Genki replied, having heard this stipulation for the dozenth time.

"Oh? Genki-san!" Ochako spoke up, accompanied by Izuku and Tenya. "There you are, we were looking all over for you! You disappeared as soon as the bell rung."

"Maybe because I was trying to get _away_ from you eccentric weirdos."

 _-_ Genki found himself _wanting_ to say aloud, but couldn't because his new neighbor was such an adorable cinnamon roll and he couldn't bring himself to hurt her feelings. _Instead_ what he said was-

"Guess I was just really hungry."

"Oh, I know how you feel. Sometimes I get the munchies too," Ochako replied with a grin. "EYAAAAAAAGH!" she yelped when three of the quintuplets suddenly got in her face, baleful red optics peering into her soul. "IT'S LIKE THEY'RE WINKING INTO MY _SOUL_!" she cried as she shielded her eyes.

"How is she _surprised_ by their presence?" Shinso found himself asking aloud. The quintuplets weren't even _hiding_ themselves, you could _literally_ see them from across the room.

"Mei-chan, it's alright, they're cool," Genki said as the bootleg/knockoff Terminators barred the three's paths.

"Okay, let 'em through," Mei said with a wave of her hand, the mannequin's baleful red optics changing to green, giving the three access.

"You!" Iida gawked the moment he caught sight of Mei's pink hair. "I should have you know I am _quite_ cross with being used as a mere _billboard_ for you during the Sports Festival!"

" . . . _Who're_ you again?" Mei asked with a tilt of her head.

"NANIIIIIIII?!" Iida yelped.

"Wow. Lunch _and_ a show," Shinso hummed as he watched Iida wail in despair. "You take me to the _best_ places."

"Iida, would you kindly take a chill pill and cool it?" Genki asked. "This behavior is _not_ befitting of a class representative."

"Ah. I see…" Iida said as he regained his composure. "My apologies. I allowed my emotions to get the best of me."

 _"It's really telling about his personality if I know something like_ that _will work so-soon after meeting him,"_ Genki hummed to himself. "Don't worry about it. You don't have to put on airs for _me_."

"Even so, as your class representative I simply _must_ apologize for such a lapse of composure."

"Did anyone ever tell you you take yourself _way_ too seriously?"

"Not with _that_ particular vernacular, I have not been," Iida replied.

"Ooh! Genki! Your bento's so _pretty_!" Ochako said drawing everyone's attention to Genki's boxed lunch, which was presently clad in a frilly pink heart-print handkerchief.

"It isn't mine," Genki returned. "I mean, it isn't mine-mine, but… What I mean to say is it's _for_ me, but not _for_ -me for-me. You know?"

"Um… Nooo?" Izuku replied confusedly.

"Ugh…" Genki groaned tiredly as he undid the knot and removed the lid, revealing a scrumptious-looking lineup of tamogoyaki, fruits, and vegetables. "Look, long-story-short, when my Onee-samas at the idol agency started finding boys they fancied, they wanted to make bento for them to get their attention, but they couldn't trust one another to give completely unbiased opinions on their cooking. Somewhere along the way, my Okaa-san convinced them to have _me_ screen their cooking, so, ever since I was ten, I've been taste-testing their food and giving my feedback on what I thought of it," he explained. "The bento caused a _lot_ of misunderstandings in middle school, so I was hoping that would change once I got to Yuuei, but one of them caught me on the way to school and asked for an emergency taste-testing after she found out the boy she liked had a thing for tamogoyaki."

"Just make sure you don't eat your chopsticks again," Shinso hummed. "You're _clearly_ quite agitated today."

"Wait, _what_ was this about chopsticks?" Ochako asked with a quirked brow.

"Ugh, Hitoshi, I'd like to eat my lunch sometime _today_. Could you _please_ tell them in my place?" Genki asked breaking a pair of disposables and digging into his lunch.

"Only if you save me some of the tamogoyaki."

 _"Deal_."

"Well, it goes like this," Shinso said enthusiastically after the promise of good food. "Back in middle school, Genki was having a really bad day. As he was eating his lunch, he noticed his chopsticks had disappeared. After that, he learned his saliva had actually been _melting_ the wooden chopsticks he'd been using, and that he'd wound up eating through them like pretzel sticks," Shinso narrated. "And that's the story of how Genki learned his saliva had cellulose-destroying enzymes."

"Ah of course," Izuku nodded. _"While surface aspects of a Mutant-Type Quirk can be easy to ascertain, the secondary and even_ tertiary _abilities of a Quirk won't become apparent unless you apply a number of stimuli or contextual cues-"_

 _ ***Whack***_

"Stop that," Genki chided, sliding his bento over. "Here you go. As-promised."

"Don't mind if I do," Shinso replied, his eyes lighting up as he plucked an especially-pleasing tamogoyaki from the lineup. " . . . _Ugh_ , these eggs are _terrible_ ," he retched after a few moments.

"Exactly why I'm taste-testing _first_ ," Genki returned with a completely straight face. "A bad bento can be as bad as…"

"As bad as _what_?" Ochako asked with a cute tilt of her head.

"As bad as a really-loud _fart_."

-is what Genki _wanted_ to say, but couldn't bring himself to since the girl in front of him was also his _neighbor_ , and he didn't want to make things weird by saying something super-inappropriate.

"As bad as a live hand grenade going off."

"Ugh, yeah, that is just the _worst_ ," Mei groaned.

" . . . "

Genki had no words.

"How can you even _eat_ this stuff?" Shinso asked as he desperately washed the taste from his mouth while Genki ate the "terrible" eggs with a completely unperturbed expression on his face.

"Don't let one bad bento get you _bento_ out of shape." At this, Uraraka let out a cute giggle. "Sometimes my Onee-samas make really _good_ stuff. You just have to be patient."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind when leveraging you for food in the future," Shinso replied as he went back to his _own_ lunch.

"So, you have siblings as _well_ then?" Iida asked, hoping to move the conversation along.

"Technically, no, but it's a little more-complicated than that," Genki answered. "Basically, after my parents started running the Ares Idol Agency, whenever they couldn't find a sitter, they'd bring me along and the other idols would look after me when they had the time. Since ANM48 didn't have the usual negative opinions about my Quirk and instead thought I was 'kawaii', they started doting on me like real Onee-samas," Genki explained. "Not _all_ of them, that'd just be ridiculous, but after a while it became a bit of a tradition to dote on the boss' kid… _even now…_ " he muttered to himself. "Eventually my parents just stopped trying for a sitter and let the girls at the agency look after me."

"ANM48… If I remember correctly, that is the idol girl group consisting exclusively of Mutant-Type girls with 'animal ears'. Am I correct?"

"You _are,_ actually. But… Why do _you_ know that?" Genki asked with a raised brow.

"Ah, well, some of my compatriots from Soumei Private Academy sang their praises quite often, so I only know of them by reputation," he said waving his hands around oddly _mechanical_ motions.

" . . . Okay, see, now _that_ makes more sense than you being a closet idol girl fan," Genki replied after a moment. "No offense, but you seemed too straight-laced to enjoy that kind of thing," he elaborated after imagining "straight-laced Iida" decked out out in a pink happi, headband, and glow-sticks whooping unashamedly at mini-skirt-clad teenagers.

"I'll have you know I can be _quite_ spontaneous when I wish to be," Iida protested as he adjusted his glasses.

"So, _Onee-samas_ , huh?" Mei asked with a manic look in her eyes. "You have a _thing_ for any of them?"

"N-No, of _course_ not! They're like _family_!"

"Oh, so you're _single_ then," Mei hummed. _"Excellent. Uhuhuhuhuhuhu…"_

"Although, seeing as how you may one day become heir to the family business, I have to ask…" Iida paused as he adjusted his glasses. "The reputation surrounding the Ares Idol Agency… Is there any _veracity_ to those rumors?"

"Why do _you_ care?" Shinso asked.

"Call it an academic curiosity," Iida asked between bites. "That and I prefer to get information from primary sources."

"Wait, what reputation are you talking about?" Izuku asked.

"Apparently, the Ares Idol Agency is extremely protective of their talent, and as the common vernacular states, they do so 'with the vengeance of an angry Yawata no Kami'," Iida explained, the image of a raging war deity briefly dominating his thoughts.

"Oh, well, _that's_ pretty easy to answer," Genki replied between bites. "Back before Paranormality occurred, all one had to do to separate idol girls from their ravenous fans was to have big, muscular men act as bouncers to keep the riff-raff away. However, as Quirks propagated through the population, brute strength alone lost its effectiveness as a deterrent for perverts and the like. So, since my father is a retired Hero, he was able to attain an Instructor's License which he then used to instruct the company's bouncers on how to use their Quirks in a competent capacity that fell within concurrent, _lawful_ uses beyond the Hero occupation. They don't have the same _authority_ as a fully-licensed Hero, but they _are_ able to retaliate against Improper Quirk Usage without _themselves_ being arrested for it."

"Ah, I see, that makes a fair amount of sense," Iida hummed with a nod as he stroked his chin. "Celebrities are just as capable of being endangered as any ordinary citizen, so it'd make sense that the only way to respond to an over-zealous fan would be to have sanctioned Quirk use as a tool of protection."

"So what, did one of your peers from Soumei try to get a little handsy with one of the girls?" Shinso asked.

"As embarrassing as it is to admit, yes, they did," Iida admitted. "A former compatriot at mine attempted to molest one of the girls with his [Stretch-Strongarm] Quirk, which was thusly tied into the shape of a pretzel."

"Hey, just be happy your friend didn't try anything _extreme_ like stealing panties from the changing room. Or sniffing their _hair_ ," Genki returned, thinking back to a story where a guys nose was quite _literally_ torn from his face. Or the pervert with a warrant who _literally_ had all of his blood punched out. "Some of the bouncers my dad employs are the boyfriends, brothers, or even _fathers_ of the idols, and when you mix in the fact that some of them are Hero Course wash-outs, you can imagine how… _enthusiastic_ they can be when the opportunity to use their Quirks presents themselves."

"Hey, that reminds me," Ochako hummed aloud. "Why do _you_ want to be a Hero?"

"Yes, that _is_ a valid question. If it were merely seeking out gainful employment, you could simply work at the Ares Idol Agency and inherit it when your father retires, so the reason for becoming a _Hero_ must be far more compelling than simple monetary gain," Iida postulated.

"There's… something I need to do," Genki answered. "Something I can only do with the authority of the No.2 Hero under my belt."

"No.2? Why not No.1?" Izuku asked, even though he himself aimed for the top-most slot.

Most-everyone he knew wanted to be "number one", so to hear someone state _deliberately_ that they wanted #2 warranted an inquiry.

"Hey, I'll be lucky to make it into the top _ten_ , let alone _the top_ Hero slot. Aiming for No.2 is simply so I'll have equal footing with my father when he was at his peak."

"How _did_ your father usurp Endeavor's place as the No.2 Hero, however briefly it may have been?" Iida asked.

"Long story short, my dad's career was a bit of a slow burn. Short story long, he wasn't very popular or charismatic, but his work on the Terraformars remake and the media coverage he received when he foiled a rival studio's plot to sabotage the movie netted him quite a lot of fame. When it was revealed that my father did all of his own stunts, the police became more-willing to dispatch him. More dispatches led to more team-ups, which led to more exposure, and because he's a speedy power-type similar to All Might, he was able to take down a number of high-profile Villains in his day while others were stuck in traffic or waiting for those with objectively-better Quirks to show up," Genki summarized. "Somewhere along the way, my father's fanbase eclipsed that of Endeavor, and the similar arrest record enabled him to become the No.2 Hero."

"For a month-long period at least," Izuku hummed contemplatively.

"Was your father hurt? Was _that_ why he retired?" Ochako asked curiously.

" _Something_ like that… But it isn't that cut-and-dry either…" Genki said morosely, antennae drooped. "Can we please change the subject."

"Yes, Uraraka, it isn't good manners to _pry_ into other people's affairs, you know."

"H… Hai…" Ochako wilted under Iida's scolding.

 _'I can understand the cinnamon roll clamming up like that, but what's the deal with_ Midoriya _?'_ Genki asked as the greenette too shifted uncomfortably in his seat. _'Ah, well, I'm sure it's nothing_ serious _. No need for_ me _to get involved.'_

"Hey! Genki-sama!"

"Sama...?" passerby hummed confusedly at the eccentric girl's outburst, looking between her and Genki with varying expressions.

"Before you go off to Internships, lemme get a selfie with you! Wanna get a _before-and-after_ shot!"

Without even waiting for a response, Mei dipped her head under the table, an act that could easily be misconstrued as... something else, without proper context.

Popping up on the other side of the table and callously shoving Shinso aside, the girl snaked an arm around Genki's body and drew him in, a heavily-modified smartphone held up.

 _'O... OPPAIIIIIIIII!'_ Genki mentally squealed as the girl pressed her _quite_ ample bosom against his arm, the oily-haired teen standing up straight -in more ways than one- as the wielder of [Zoom] snapped their picture, an ear-to-ear grin on her own face while Genki's own was a rictus of shock.

Everyone else apart from Shinso had _similar_ looks on their faces as they beheld the girl's... ahem, _assets_.

"Uh... Are we interrupting something?" a new voice asked.

"NO! No. Of course not!" Genki yelped between fluctuations of hormones as Mei held onto him. "So... Sero-san, Sato-san, what can I do for you two?"

"If we're _interrupting_ something, we can come back later," Sero said with a chuckle as he beheld Genki's arm being swallowed by the pinkette's bosom.

"No! Please. By all means sit down!" Genki offered/pleaded.

"Fine. But only 'cause your totes adorable," Mei huffed as she waved the two through, letting them take available seats.

"So... What did you want to see me about?" Genki asked as he slowly became _acclimated_ to Mei's... dynamite body.

"Well... I was wondering if you could hook me up with any of your dad's old friends for my internships," Sato answered.

"Yeah, same here. Kaminari and Mina looked _really_ excited earlier in class, and the pickings on my list are a little... thin," Sero added.

"Hmmm... What's it _worth_ to you?" Genki asked with a raised brow.

He'd made the previous offer to Kaminari because of their shared acquaintance with the Azure Striker: Gunvolt, and for Mina it was out of respect for her abilities as a and he felt like he owed her after the whole "oil wrestling episode".

It had nothing at all to do with her sex appeal or her poking at his weak points.

Nope. Nothing like that.

For Sato and Sero, while he was _acquainted_ with them, he wasn't acquainted with them _enough_ that he'd stick his neck out for them without good reason. Pestering his friends and family for two acquaintances itself was a bit of a string-tugger already.

"Um... I've got this slice of _cake_ ," Sato offered as he gestured to the piece of cake on his tray; double chocolate.

"I've got _pudding_ ," Sero offered quickly, though feeling marginally outshone as he beheld Sato's own offering.

" . . . Okay, you have my attention," Genki said tapping the spot in front of his bento, Sero and Sato setting down their respective offerings. "So... What exactly are you looking for out of the internships that your school-provided lists don't offer."

"Well... I want to get _really strong_ , but I feel like no-one on the default list will take me seriously," Sato sighed. "And I don't want to be stuck doing grunt work all week, I want to actually _learn_ something."

" _Strong,_ huh?" Genki hummed. "I _might_ know someone like that..." he trailed off. _'Though you might curse my name after meeting her,'_ he thought to himself thinking back to his _own_ upbringing. "What about _you_? What do _you_ want out of the internships?" he asked turning his attention to Sero.

"To be honest... The way I crapped out during the Sports Festival really got to me," Sero sighed. "I mean, I know that Todoroki's Quirk is seriously OP, but I still feel like I could've done _better_ if I had someone to teach me new and exciting ways to use my Quirk."

"Hmmm... I think my _godmother_ might actually be up your alley then," the Mutant teen hummed.

"Wait, _seriously_?" Sero asked excitedly.

"Maybe. But there's no guarantee my family will take _any_ of you under their wing," Genki reminded. "Like I told Mina and Kaminari, you should still choose someone from your own listings in case things on my end fall through," he said as he went back to eating his lunch.

Thankfully, at least for Genki, no-one _else_ from 1-A sought out favors from him.

 _ ***MHA***_

 **AN:  
Just a short little snippet I thought I'd touch up on as I expand upon Genki's relationship with his extended family and the family business. Which actually turned out longer-than-expected.**

 **That and him** _ **discovering**_ **his saliva had cellulose-destroying enzymes.**

 **Also, more of Mei being, well... Mei.**

 **Hope you'll tell me what you think in the Review column.**

 **GO BEYOND!**

 **EXCELSIOR!**


	16. Dress Rehearsal

Hero Internships were slated to begin the day after tomorrow for a week-long period. A major turning point in _any_ aspirant Hero's young lives.

However, before the students of 1-A were to be loosed upon Japan, it was decided that, with the recent addition to the class, 1-A would undergo one additional exercise for Hero Basic Training before the internships began.

Nothing _too_ intensive that anyone would be injured pre-internship, but loosened-up enough after the break that the rust would be shaken off.

While Genki was getting over all the weirdness that was his first lunch period as part of the Hero Course, his [Vibration Sensing] sub-Quirk picked up hasty footsteps coming from the hallway. There wasn't any sort of attempt to _hide_ their coming, and the footsteps themselves were ostentatious, almost _violent_ , as they made a beeline for the door, which swung open a moment later.

 **"I have… COME THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!"** All Might announced boldly as he thrust himself into the room, clad in his Silver-Age costume.

' _I don't think it counts as 'normal' if you have to_ announce _it,'_ Genki hummed to himself quietly, whereas everyone went ga-ga over the No.1 Hero like they'd never seen him before.

 **"Gokiburi-kun, since this is your first time here-"**

"I know how this works. My mom was an alumnus, so you don't need to set time aside to explain it to me," Genki waved off. "Since your time is valuable, I assume you'd appreciate the fact that I'm already up-to-speed on the subject. Anything else I need to know, Iida-senpai can fill me in on."

 **"Ah… well…** _ **Yes**_ **, that** _ **is**_ **true…"** All Might admitted, unused to being left flat-footed like this. **"Moving on! Today's activity will be… THIS!"**

 **CAPTURE THE FLAG**

"Uooooh!"

"Capture the flag?"

"That's a new one!"

"What's the twist?" the students of 1-A asked.

 **"To put it simply, it'll be like the games of Capture the Flag you played in middle school, but with the added caveat of being able to use your Quirks, but additional rules will be explained on site,"** All Might replied. **"For this exercise, we'll be using Training Ground Beta, so all of you get your costumes together and** _ **LET'S GO**_ **!"**

With a press of his remote, four glass-lined shelves suddenly slid out of the walls, each one containing five numbered metal briefcases.

As everyone scrambled to get their briefcases, Genki decided to hang back. His briefcase would still be there after a minute or two, and it'd be a lot less of a hassle to get to it if he didn't have to fight a crowd.

"Ah, Yaoyarozu-senpai, you're waiting too?" Genki asked.

"Yes. Our costumes will still be there, even if we wait for them," the ravenette admitted.

"Funny, I was thinking the exact same thing," he nodded.

"So… How are you acclimating to Class 1-A?" Momo asked.

"Well, I'm still getting used to the fact that _'I am here'_ , but all in all, everyone's been very nice; barring a few exceptions," he sighed glancing Bakugou's way before turning his gaze back to Momo. "I know I'm a little behind, and that I'm late to the races, but I promise to do my very best all day every day, so please take care of me, Yaoyarozu-senpai," he said bowing at the waist.

"H-Hai, I'll be sure to help you out any way I can," Momo replied, unused to the deferential tone she was receiving. "Though to be fair, I don't at all miss whom you have replaced."

"Once again, my apologies for taking him into the second round," Genki apologized, hands clapped together.

"It's alright. Watching you kick him that way… was more satisfying than I'd normally be willing to admit," Momo returned, the two stepping forward to collect their costumes a moment later.

"Oh trust me, Mineta is _far_ from the first pervert I've kicked into next week," Genki chuckled jovially.

 _ ***MHA***_

By the time Genki got to the locker room, the others who had been changing in and out of their costumes for longer had already come and gone, leaving him largely alone as he got changed into his own costume. Since there was still time before the exercise, he gave the User's Manual a good once-over, years of introverted study _-as well as the nature of his own Quirk's secondary biological factors-_ making him a quick fast-reader. _Mei's_ manuals were less formalized, but nonetheless helpful, and you could almost _feel_ the eccentric girl's zeal in the thrown-together manual for her _own_ Support Items.

Satisfied that he had a firm understanding of how his new costume worked, the teen stripped down to the speedo-style trunks he wore in lieu of underwear, before getting into costume.

A few minutes later and Genki rushed toward the light at the end of the tunnel. Coming out into the afternoon sun, he was greeted to the sight of all his peers in their costumes, each one tailor-made by a support company whose expertise lied in the unique and varied needs of their clients'.

Genki's own was no different.

Accommodating for his wings and elytra, his upper body was clad in a backless skin-tight turtleneck-style tank top that left his midriff exposed and synched snugly across the small of his back, the coloring dark brown with splotches of black and lighter brown spread across it. In contrast to the skin-tight nature of his shirt, the shorts he wore, synched tightly around the waist with a matching utility belt, were wide-legged that stopped at the knees, featuring the same "splotchy" color scheme as the upper half of his costume. His elbows, knees, forearms, and shins were clad in stylized protective gear like those worn by motorcyclists, shiny dark-brown with black trim, the lack of armor anywhere else sacrificing durability for speed and maneuverability while still giving him some form of protection in the event he had to tuck-and-roll. On his hands he wore tight fingerless gloves with nozzles on his palms and reinforced knuckles, while around his ankles he had black "ninja sandals" that wrapped around his feet and ankles, his toes and heels left exposed with perforations in the soles that would allow him to release his **Goki Oil Flow** from the bottoms of his feet.

In terms of Support Items, his custom-tooled Custom Leg Parts, colored the same shiny dark-brown as the rest of his costume, were sleeker in design than the ones he and Iida used during the Sports Festival, custom-made to his own leg-length and kinesthetic needs in mind. He also had the five-shot Capture Gun hanging from his hip like a six-shooter, a little something extra Mei had slipped in while Power Loader was finalizing the delivery of his costume itself that afternoon.

Even at this very moment, Mei was working on miniaturizing the tech in her Auto-Balancer and re-working it to work in conjunction with his elytra in the event he needed to whip out his wings for anything; though apparently the soonest she'd have that complete, by her own estimates at least, was _after_ the week-long Internships.

Hopefully things wouldn't get so-crazy that he'd _need_ something like that. They were _useful_ to be sure, but he learned to make due without them before.

"Uwa! Genki-san! Your costume's so loose and airy!" Ochako giggled as his shorts flapped in the wind.

"And yours has the exact _opposite_ problem," Genki replied good-naturedly as he gave her a passive once-over.

All things considered, hers could be passed for a tight-fitting swimsuit.

"Ugh, don't _remind_ me…" Ochako slumped.

"Well, if anything, as long as you're in great shape, a skintight costume will help cultivate that fanbase, and the bigger the fanbase…" he said raising her up, bringing that smile back to her face.

"The more money I can send back to my family," the brunette admitted. "That or a nicer vacation to Hawaii!" she said with a beaming smile.

" _That's_ the ticket!" Genki said giving his neighbor a thumbs-up.

Back when they were eating dinner together, Ochako's own reason for being a Hero just… _came up_. Of course, Genki didn't disparage her motivations for becoming a Hero; not when so many people aimed to become Heroes for _purely_ self-centered reasons.

Like accumulating as much material wealth as fiscally possible for no other reason than making themselves "filthy stinking rich"; an aspiration many of his peers from middle school were _quite_ vocal and shameless about.

There _were_ of course those that wanted to use the capital that came with being a Hero to form their own harems as a way of quote/unquote "fighting the declining birth rate", but people with _that_ goal in mind kept it much closer to the vest than those in it purely for the money and fame.

"Oh! And it looks like you're wearing those things from the Cavalry Battle?" the brunette asked turning to the Support Items on his legs. "Wait, did they _always_ look like that?" she hummed noticing the difference.

While the ones from before were straight-angled and utilitarian so _anyone_ could use them, _these_ had been modified to conform directly to the contours of his body, putting less stress on both his legs and the support equipment itself.

"Ah, well, Mei-chan custom-tooled these _custom_ Custom Leg Parts out of carbon fiber and CNTs," Genki answered. There was also a bunch of techno-babble of Mei's he _didn't_ understand, but he wouldn't bore her with the details. "Apparently one of her friends from the Support Course has a Quirk that lets him make them after eating Carbon, though I'm told the start and end of the process is… _less_ than pleasant," he cringed.

Mei had given him _way_ too much information on that front.

"However, because they're made of high-end materials unlike the prototype from the Sports Festival, not only are they lighter, but they can also cope with my max speed for extended periods, and my _acceleration_ has been raised quite significantly," he said with a smile as he did some leg stretches. "I feel like a real _Hero_ now."

"Well, you most-certainly look the part," Iida said striding towards them. "I am glad that you were able to get your costume together on such short notice. Though I have to ask, why is there that… _splotchy_ pattern across your chest and pants?"

"You mean the camouflage?" Genki asked as he looked down at himself. "Apparently it's the trademark of my costume's designer. The instruction manual said it was made _extra_ hydrophobic so my [Oilpiration]'s secretions wouldn't stick to it. It also _breathes_ very well, so I can even use the spiracles my costume covers, which is pretty amazing when you think about it."

"Hey, I think the two of us might actually have the _same_ designer!" Mina realized as she looked him over, pointing between the camouflage patterns of their respective costumes.

"Maybe, only in _my_ case, mine actually _works_ like camouflage. _Yours_ looks like someone tossed a firecracker into a can of neon paint," Genki said with a chuckle.

"Well you don't have to be _mean_ about it," Mina pouted, poking her fingers together.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself," Genki chuckled nervously as he unclipped a mask from the back of his belt, juggling it in his hands. Like the rest of his costume, it was color-coordinated to match the rest of it, minus the camouflage trademark. It was sleek and aerodynamic, covering his face down to his chin and sweeping over his head to cover his hair, while set into the front were large green compound eyes not unlike those of the Kamen Riders of yore. Drilled into the top were holes he could poke his antennae through, and they were prehensile-enough that he could pull them back in if the need arose.

"Cool mask," Mina hummed. "Not sure about the _bug-eyes_ though," she said giving the large lenses a tap, a set of black eyelids almost clamping down mechanically around her finger with a _***snap***_. "Eyah! What the-"

"The instruction manual said this mask came with closing eyelids that activate in response to stains on the primary lensing and function like windshield wipers. Real handy for speed-type Heroes who have to deal with bug strike, or god forbid _bird_ strike," he hummed.

There was also _drone_ strike, but one of _those_ hadn't happened in quite a while after the incapacitations and/or deaths of many young Heroes forced governments to take the threat of drone technology _seriously_.

Or rather, dust off the books and make serious changes in the legislation surrounding them since _Quirks_ became a thing.

Back in the age of the _Corporate_ Hero, a lot of money was made and lost in Hero-related lawsuits, and when drone strike got in the way of Hero TV, let's just say there was as much _green_ spilling out as there was _red_.

"They're also designed to be super-emotive in response to contractions in my facial muscles, a big plus in any post-fight interview for a Hero whose face can be on the… _plain_ side," he said scratching his armored cheek.

His Onee-samas only considered him "cute" on the merit that he was "small" and "baby-faced" when they first met him, and the hype built up around him by the older idols made the newer ones treat him similarly due to enforced bias and meme.

"Wow, you really thought of _everything_ , didn't you?" Mina asked as his "eyes" went through varying expressions.

"In this line of work, you _have_ to," Genki said with a nod. "Do you feel lucky? Well, do you, punk?" he quoted in a deep voice.

"Oh! So cool!" Izuku awed as the mask's eyelids emoted into a narrow-eyed glare. "What else can they do?" he asked excitedly.

"According to the instruction manual, they have auto-polarizing lenses to respond to sudden changes in brightness, low-light visibility augmentation, and even infared," he said tapping a button on his mask, the world around him shifting to technicolor shades of blues and greens for cold, and reds and yellows for hot as he swept over his peers' outfits. The exposed parts of their bodies were warm, their costumes cooler, and- " . . . Holy crap she's _NAAAKED_!" he suddenly shrieked.

"Eyaah! Don't look!" Toru cried as she draped an arm across her chest and groin.

In context, it was only her _groin_ that was hidden because of the glove.

"Sorry! Sorry! It's just… Why are you _actually_ naked?! Couldn't you just wear a _transparent_ costume!?" Genki asked frantically as his mask's eyelids clamped themselves shut, hands splayed over them for good measure.

"I-I _wanted_ that, but when I got the costume you could still _see_ me so…" the invisible girl explained frantically.

"And all of _you_! How can you guys be so _nonchalant_ about this?!" Genki asked his new peers who weren't weirded out by this in the slightest.

"Well… In a weird way you kinda get used to it," Ojiro replied with a scratch to his cheek.

" . . . _HOW_?! HOW CAN YOU GET _USED_ TO THAT!?" Genki cried.

He'd assumed the reason Toru went topless during the Cavalry Battle was explicitly _because_ she didn't have her costume. But to realize that her _actual_ costume was almost no costume AT _ALL_ was…

"It's best not to think about it," Ojiro said with as straight a face as he could with a nearly-naked teenage girl standing next to him.

"Well at least I don't have to worry about _Mineta_ looking at me anymore," the invisible girl said positively.

" . . . It's melting. I can _literally_ feel my brain melting right now," Genki said with a completely flat expression, his mask's upper eyelids half-drooped and parallel to the ground.

"Like I said," Ojiro said placing a hand on his shoulder. "It's best not to think about it."

 **"Gokiburi-kun! You're looking very sleek and shiny!"** All Might greeted as he swooped in. **"You uh… You seem disturbed by something."**

"Did you know that girl over there is stark _naked_?!"

 **"NANIIIIIII!?"** the Symbol of Peace yelped in a rather undignified fashion, his face a rictus of shock and horror.

"I said don't look!" Toru cried with renewed embarrassment.

 **"I thought you were just wearing a really transparent** _ **costume**_ **!"** All Might yelped as he whirled around in the opposite direction. **"Does that mean during all our exercises, you've been** _ **streaking**_ **?!"**

"Yes, sensei. From what I understand, she has been and will probably _continue_ to be stark naked."

"Stop saying _'naked'_!" Toru cried.

"Then wear a _cape_ or something! Seriously, how are you not _cold_?!" Genki shrieked back.

 _ ***MHA***_

 **"Ahem… Moving on…"** All Might said awkwardly as he glanced away from the girl he now knew was-in-fact "streaking". **"With interns coming up in a couple days, we decided to give you a light workout that would still be stimulating in nature, but minimize the risk of any injury that'd hamper your learning experience out of Yuuei. Hence, we decided on a rousing game of Capture the Flag!"** he proclaimed as he gestured to a circular pedestal situated in the middle of the street behind him; mounted in the center of which was a six-foot-tall flagpole with a red triangle of cloth featuring the Yuuei emblem. **"The rules are simple. Each team will comprise of ten members with one out of each serving as the captain. Your objective is to seize your enemy's flag while returning to your own camp, and you can only handle your own flag once it's been removed from the pedestal, so no** _ **hiding**_ **it. As with our previous exercises, you'll be using Capture Tape to 'incapacitate' your opponents. Your team loses when your flag has either been whisked away to the enemy camp three times over, all members of your team have been captured, or your own _captain_ becomes a casualty. Any questions?"**

"Yes! Who will be on each team?" Iida asked.

 **"Well that's what we're here to find out!"** All Might announced as he drew a ballot box from… somewhere. **"Teams will be divided between Reds and Blues, and the Captains will be decided by whoever has the gold star! Come now, we don't have all day!"** he said jostling the contents of the box, the students lining up.

 **To Be Continued…**


	17. Capture the Flag: Round 1

**abciluvpie:** Please ham them bring up the Lemillion costume. Toru going n*** is stupid in any case.

 **NeoNazo356:** That _is_ an excellent point to make, but what happens if Toru's "sheddings" _lose_ their "transparency" after they're cut?  
Her Quirk isn't [Transparency], it's [Invisibility]. If her Quirk actually _did_ make her "transparent", her Super Move, **Light Refraction** , wouldn't actually work as-shown in Canon. Toru's Quirk _bends_ the light striking her body, while her Super Move simply re-directs that light in a radial, omni-directional fashion, instead of "going around" her body as-usual.  
Also, Mirio's clothes aren't made _completely_ out of his hair, it's merely the "binding agent" that links his Costume to his Quirk, similar to how DC Comics'Hank Pym's costume "synchronizes with his bio-electric field" to enable it to shrink and grow as he does. Still, that _is_ an excellent point to make, so I'll be sure to bring it up in the future.

 _ ***MHA***_

 **"Alright, now that the ballots have been drawn, it's time to decide the Teams and Captains!"** All Might announced as everyone stepped forward holding color-coded balls in their hands. **"On the Red Team we have…"**

Pulling out his phone, a red-colored hologram began to list out names.

Eijirou Kirishima  
Fumikage Tokoyami  
Hanta Sero  
Katsuki Bakugou  
Shoto Todoroki  
Tenya Iida  
Toru Hagakure  
Tsuyu Asui  
Mezo Shoji  
Mina Ashido

 **"On the Blue Team we have…"**

Likewise, a blue-colored hologram listed out the remaining names.

Denki Kaminari  
Gokiburi Genki  
Izuku Midoriya  
Koji Koda  
Kyoka Jiro  
Mashiro Ojiro  
Ochako Uraraka  
Rikido Sato  
Yaoyarozu Momo  
Yuuga Aoyama

 **"And as for our** _ **Captains**_ **…"** he announced, everyone turning their ballots over until two gold stars came into view. **"Katsuki Bakugou and Gokiburi Genki!"** he announced, Bakugou and Genki's names gaining gold stars. **"And just a reminder, if the Team Captain gets captured, it's an automatic loss for that round,"** All Might tacked on, Bakugou grinning maliciously while Genki sighed tiredly.

' _The more things change, the more they stay the same,'_ he lamented.

 **"Alright then! The exercise begins in ten minutes after I've taken Red Team to their flag,"** All Might announced as he stepped into a side street before driving out in an extra-long open-air shuttle. **"I'll be monitoring the exercise out-of-sight, and** _ **Red Team**_ **… If the flag or any structures are erroneously destroyed by certain items, it'll be your loss,"** he added as he not-so-subtly turned his attention and finger to Bakugou, the teen bristling at the implication as the Red Team drove off.

"Oh man, the Reds have two of our heavy-hitters right off the bat," Kaminari sighed.

"Hey, and just what is _that_ supposed to mean?" Kyoka huffed, her [Earphone Jack]s rising up menacingly like twin serpents.

"G-Guys, please don't fight! We have to protect our _flag_ , remember?" Izuku stepped in.

"Still, it _does_ seem like the bulk of the Reds are those that Genki has beaten during the Sports Festival," Momo hummed. "Could it be _coincidence_ , or…?"

"Pretty sure it's just a coincidence. A freaky, _freaky_ coincidence," Ojiro stated.

"Guys. You don't have to worry about a _thing_ ," Genki cut in, smiling brightly. "The Reds might have Bakugou and Todoroki, but we've got a heavy-hitter of our _own_ ," he said grinning Momo's way.

"Wait, you mean _me?_ " Momo asked, confused as to why she was being held at the same level as the second and third-place winners of the Sports Festival.

"Yep!" Genki said giving the girl his brightest smile. "Craterface and Todoroki might have raw stopping power, but you have even _more_ stopping power. And _plus_ ," he said as his smile turned a bit more devious, his gaze panning sidelong. "We have a secret weapon of our _own_. Heh heh heeeeh."

 _ ***MHA***_

"Listen up, Reds!" Bakugou bellowed as soon as Red Team was in position around their flag, which was mounted atop a flat circular dais set into the center of a thoroughfare. "We're gonna squish that damn bug under our boots before internships, and we _aren't_ going to lose our flag even _once_! You hear me?"

The others' response was less-than-enthusiastic, as was due the toxicity of their leader's abrasive personality.

"Streaker Girl!"

"S- _Streaker_?!" Toru yelped objectively.

"You're going to go on ahead and run reconnaissance. Tell us who is staying behind and who is aiming for our flag. We'll plan our counterattack appropriately," Bakugou huffed as he threw himself lazily onto a nearby bench, eyes glued to the flag. "We'll let those dirty Blue Bugs come to _us_ until you get back."

"Hey, who died and made _you_ leader!?" Mina cried out.

"Your _dignity_. When you all lost to that damn _bug_ from the General Course!" Bakugou growled, still-bristling at the memory.

"I feel like that's _your_ problem more than _ours_ ," Mina hummed. "I mean, _yeah_ , I'm a little bummed out about it, but Gen-chan worked _really hard_ for that win, so I guess it just doesn't _bother_ me as much as you."

" _Bothered_!? I'm not bothered! _You're_ bothered, Raccoon Eyes!" the explosive teen raged.

 _'So mature…'_ the rest of Red Team thought, Toru taking the opportunity to excuse himself before Bakugou exploded all over _her_.

 _'_ Definitely _not boyfriend material,'_ she thought to herself as she tip-toed away.

 _ ***MHA***_

The respective "camps" of Red and Blue Team were located a quarter-mile apart, each on a main thoroughfare, staggered by an eighth of a mile. In this way, you couldn't go in "a straight line", and since erroneous property destruction "wasn't allowed", you couldn't make your own doors either, you had to work _around_ your environment; not unlike CTF Modes in video games.

Obviously this exercise leaned more in the favor of those with mobility-type Quirks on the traversal, but the open space of the "camp" in the middle of each thoroughfare made it equally defensible by those with offensive and supplementary Quirks. As such, no one Quirk could dominate everything, necessitating teamwork and cooperation.

Of course, the fact that none of them were given earpieces like in the Heroes vs Villains battle, a reflection of real-world conditions where Heroes had to coordinate on the fly in an informal matter, meant that _trust_ and _planning_ was more-powerful than any Quirk.

Hence, why Toru Hagakure found herself sneaking up to Blue Camp, cut off from the rest of her team as she did recon.

Each camp's topography was arranged so that while the flag was exposed on the longitudinal, there were buildings occupying the latitude, meaning the only approach to the flags were along the straight of each thoroughfare, or even the vertical for those with flight-type Quirks.

Sneaking along one such alley behind the Blue Camp's flag, her gloves and boots left behind a parked car in another street, she _was_ , for all intents completely invisible.

Koda crossing the mouth of the alley in front of her, Toru froze in place, wide innocent-looking eyes passing right over her before he walked on past her.

The girl letting out a relieved sigh, she continued to tip-toe to the mouth of the alley, peeking half of her face around the corner.

Blue Team was circling the flag, digging themselves in; a sensible approach when the opposing team had more heavy-hitters and could cause more "damage" in a straight-up 10-v-10 matchup.

However, they were so-widely spread out that the flag was left wide open, no-one standing immediately next to it. A tempting target if ever there was one.

Recalling how-swiftly Bakugou wrote her off, a hot knot of anger formed in the invisible girl's stomach at being called "streaker", her fists went knuckle-clear as she tip-toed her way to the flag.

 _'Let's see him call_ me _a "steaker" when I get him the first flag,'_ Toru thought to herself as she made her way to the flag.

 _ ***SNAP***_

"Itai! What the-" Toru yelped as something clamped around her ankle. Looking down, the girl saw a literal _bear trap_ around her leg. Only, instead of iron, it was made of a near-transparent _plastic_.

"There she is! Get her!"

"EYAAAAAAAGH!" Toru cried as multiple Blues lunged at her with Capture Tape held like garrote wire.

 _ ***MHA***_

"Well, looks like _that_ was a bust," Bakugou shrugged as Toru's quote/unquote "image" on the nearby scoreboard went dark.

"You're awfully nonchalant about losing First Blood to Genki. _Again_ ," Todoroki hummed causing Bakugou to bristle.

"Doesn't matter. She was dead weight _anyway_ ," Bakugou growled irritably tapping his foot.

"Guys, I hear something," Shoji said, the ears on his [Dupli-Arms] twitching as he looked around. "Sounds like… a leaky tire…?"

"YOINK!" Genki whooped as he flew in from the rear of the camp and snatched up the flag, foregoing any form of subtlety. The next moment he unfurled his wings, beating them rapidly and firing off blasts of compressed air from his feet as he made his getaway.

"WHAT!?" Bakugou raged as the blur of brown shot by. "AFTER HIM!" he shouted, blasting off with his Quirk while the rest of Red Team struggled to follow after.

"Curses! I can't reach him!" Iida cursed as Genki began to fly upward.

Sure, the [Engine] user _could_ run up the wall with his then-current speed and _try_ to catch up to him, but unlike his brother who had top-of-the-line airbags-type Support Items built in, his own costume had _nothing_ to protect him from the fall if he missed, and no-one else on his team really had a Quirk condusive toward a _soft_ landing.

"Don't worry! I've got him!" Sero whooped as he swung up before firing off his tape at the teen's blindspot, only for the Mutant to aileron roll out of the way. "What?! How'd he know to Star Fox away from that!?"

"Unlike most of us, Gokiburi doesn't need his eyes to see," Shoji hummed.

"Icy-Hot! Send your ice up the buildings and stop him!" Bakugou raged as Genki continued to stay out of his range.

"Thanks for telling me your entire _plan_!" Genki smirked over his shoulder, transferring the red flag to one hand before aiming his remaining limbs straight down. " **Goki Thruster**!"

With a shout, the teen launched himself upward, well above the surrounding buildings before curving his trajectory into an arc, disappearing from view.

"Okay, _now_ I'm confused."

"What by, Tsu-chan?" Mina asked.

"Cockroaches can't fly under their own power, yet Genki is soaring through the air like Captain Celebrity…" the [Frog Form] girl hummed. "How's he _doing_ that?" she asked, watching Bakugou struggle to keep up as Genki continued to accelerate.

 _ ***MHA***_

Meanwhile, back at Blue Camp…

"Are you sure it was a good idea? Sending our captain into the lion's den like that?" Sato asked worriedly, eyes glancing at the scoreboard as though expecting Genki's image to darken any second.

"Well, Red Team has too many heavy-hitters to risk a frontal assault, and even if Bakugou only went after _one_ of us, Todoroki's the bigger obstacle," Ojiro hummed, a chill running across his feet at the memory of the first Heroes v Villains exercise.

"Yeah, as much as I hate to admit it, the best way to get an early lead is to _blitz_ them," Kyoka admitted.

"Not very _gallant_ , though," Aoyama sighed.

The next moment, explosions off in the distance scared numerous pigeons from their roosts, Koda locking up off to the side as Bakugou's rage-filled bellows echoed into Blue Camp.

"Well… Looks like our team captain's still alive," Kaminari hummed, looking up at the scoreboard.

"Yes, but for how much longer…?" Momo mused, mind racing as she thought about all the ways the joint plan could go wrong. "Only three, maybe _four_ of Red Team have any measure of verticality, but it's still one against twenty. He could still be overwhelmed at a moment's notice."

"Look! Up there!" Ochako suddenly cried, pointing skyward. "There's Genki!" the brunette called out as the Mutant teen began descending toward them.

"And Bakugou's right behind him!" Kyoka cried, the explosive teen trailing right behind, slowly gaining now that gravity was on his side.

"Team! Deploy anti-air counter measures!" Izuku called out, the ground-bound members of the team scrambling to deploy the items Momo had made with her [Creation] for this very situation.

"My Quirk might not be very precise, but I can still do this much," Denki said as his fingers sparked. "Fire in the hole!"

Electricity leaping from his fingers onto the fuses laid out across the ground, everyone scattered as fireworks were shot from the launchers scattered across the ground. Projectiles screaming into the air, the lenses in Genki's mask polarized as soon as the explosions of bright colors began to go off, the Mutant teen weaving expertly between projectiles. Bakugou on the other hand wasn't so lucky, a blast of light and color blinding him, causing him to careen completely off-course.

"Deploy airbag!" Momo called out, Koda, Sato, Ojiro, and Aoyama ferrying a large two-stage airbag into position where Bakugou was going to land, the expertly-crafted item stopping Bakugou from painting the block a very disgusting color.

"Midoriya-senpai! Catch!" Genki cried as he spread out his wings and fluttered to a stop, tossing the flag to Izuku who caught it frantically before planting it in the Blue Team pedestal.

 **"Blue Team wins Round One!"** All Might announced.

"Wh-What?!" Bakugou raged as the spots from his eyes finally cleared.

 **"I said, Blue Team wins Round One!"** All Might repeated.

"Way to go, team!" Genki cheered as he floated about. "Uraraka-senpai! High-ten!"

"Yeah!" Ochako cried happily, the two's palms meeting before Genki was sent pinwheeling through the air uncontrollably. "Ah! Wait! Hold on! **Release**!" the girl cried bringing her fingertips together, the effects of her [Zero Gravity] on the bug-like teen disappearing, dropping him to the ground. "Whew… I know it was just you up there… but that was actually a lot of work," she admitted. "Deku-kun! Great job! Your plan went off without a hitch!"

"Y-Y-Yeah, I guess it did," Izuku replied with a flushed face, scratching at the back of his head.

"What?! _Your_ plan!?" Bakugou growled.

 **"All members of Red Team, please return to your base while we reset the exercise!"** All Might called out as one of the steward robots came in, grabbed the flag, and zipped off.

"Yep!" Genki chirped happily. "Sure, I've had a good idea or two in my time, but _this_ guy? This guy here's a heavy-hitter in his _own_ right!" he said throwing an arm around Izuku's shoulder. "Face it, Baka-gou, you didn't stand a _chance_ against this guy's super-powered brain! Aaah hahahahaha!"

"Rrrgh! Why youuuuuu…!" Bakugou growled, Izuku shuddering in fear as the explosive teen stomped violently toward him.

 **"I repeat, all members of Red Team, please return to base while we reset the exercise."**

" . . . I'll get you in round god damn _two_ ," Bakugou growled under his breath as he stormed off.

"Good luck with that!" Genki replied warmly, the explosive teen fuming as he walked off. "Whew, that was a close one. Craterface almost _got_ me."

"Yeah, and I'm pretty sure the same gimmick won't work _twice_ ," Kyoka huffed. "Next round, they'll _definitely_ have people on the high ground. It's what _I'd_ do."

"So what's the plan? Do we dig ourselves in?" Kaminari asked.

"I wouldn't recommend it. In this scenario, the lead we have over them is too small," Momo stated. "If we try to wait out the clock with a one-zero lead, if they're able to get two in succession, running out the clock at this early stage could easily work against us in the long run."

"So we need to stay on the attack, then," Sato stated, crossing his arms.

"Which is where this guy's super-brain comes into play," Genki said ruffling the greenette's messy lochs. "Good job thinking of synergizing my [Gokiburi] with Ochako's [Zero Gravity]."

"Y-Yes, well, you couldn't fly under your own power because your wings weren't strong enough, but if your weight is nullified, that no longer becomes an issue," Izuku explained. "It really _is_ a combination move only-possible with Quirks like yours. Even if a weight-lightening Quirk were applied to your body, you'd still lose a massive amount of freedom, and I was only confident you'd be able to make use of Uraraka-san's Quirk because you can maneuver through the air omni-directionally like an astronaut through space-"

"Okay, we get it," Kaminari said chopping the greenette on the head lightly. "So, what's next?"

"I'm pretty sure I have something up _my_ sleeve this time," Genki said with a smirk. "Yaoyarozu-senpai! The success of our second volley comes down to you once again. Ready for a made-to-order?"

"Hai!" Momo nodded firmly, sheaving through the pages of her Yaoyorictionary.

That her [Creation] had been so-pivotal in their first win of the exercise gave her the confidence she needed to tackle her next tasks with gusto.

 **To Be Continued…**

 _ ***MHA***_

 **AN:  
Originally this exercise was going to involve a TF2-style "protect the briefcase" kinda scenario, but I changed my mind at the last minute. Main reason I wrote in another Hero Informatics exercise before the Internship arc was so that everyone would get to see Genki in-costume, that way imagining it down-the-road would be easier. **

**As for Genki and Mina's costumes having the same designer, Kyoka & Kaminari, and Uraraka & Bakugou **_**also**_ **had their respective costumes made by the same designer, which was the trend that inspired the idea. In Kyoka & Kaminari's case, the "trademark" was leather jackets, while for Uraraka & Bakugou it was the the colon ( : ) mark on their respective costumes. Because Genki and Mina **_**both**_ **have secretion-related facets of their Quirk it just made the most sense to have their costumes have a similar designer.**

 **Anyway, hope you liked the chapter, and I look forward to hearing from you now and in the future.**

 **GO BEYOND!**

 **EXCELSIOR!**


	18. Capture the Flag: Round 2

**Greywing44:** This was shorter then I was expecting and I also didn't even think of Genki and Uraraka's quirks working together like that! That was awesome! I wonder how you'll get other quirks to work together, maybe something sensory like Kyoka's earjacks and Genki's wings? Aplifying the sound waves they create into a high buzzing blast?

 **NeoNazo356:** [Earphone Jack] and [Gokiburi] wouldn't "mesh" like that, unfortunately.  
Kyoka's [Earphone Jack] allows her to transmit the sound of her heartbeat into whatever "medium" it's projected into, and the reason it's so-effective as an anti-infantry weapon is because Humans are 70% Water (barring Quirk-related exception), and if you ever saw Dosu (Naruto) using his own "Sound Release" on Choji during the Chunin Exams, that's essentially the same principal. That's why, when she isn't sticking her "Jacks" into people's eyes or ears, she's sticking them into speaker-type Support Items on her costume; because air by-itself is a very _shitty_ medium for conducting sound.  
I'm glad that [Zero Gravity] & [Gokiburi] as a Combination Move went over so well with you, but [Gokiburi] + [Earphone Jack] doesn't really "add up".

 **Ferdiad:** Not much to say, good chapter, maybe have All Might criticise Genki if his team wins for delegating too much, he needs to learn how to plan himself after all.

 **NeoNazo356:** Being a good leader isn't _only_ about giving orders. It's also a matter of _receiving_ input from one's peers, and knowing when and how to trust in the expertise of _others_. If Genki had only _his_ ideas executed, that'd be limiting the "contributions" that could be made by the rest of his team.  
Remember when Todoroki and Momo were fighting Aizawa in the Final Exams? If Momo had _completely_ "ceded" leadership to Todoroki, they would've lost. It's only when she asserted her _own_ role as a contributor, that they were able to win.

 **Ultimate-Zelda-Fan:** Be honest with me; how many Red Vs. Blue references are you going to use?

 **NeoNazo356:** Only as-many as I feel necessary, for as long as the Capture the Flag exercise requires. _Outside_ of CTF, there won't be any Red vs Blue division. _Dialogue_ references I might still put in, but I'll try not to "shoehorn" it in where it wouldn't thematically "fit".

 **Guest:** I expect a slew of red vs blue references in the next one.

 **NeoNazo356:** I had one or two in the previous. If I can squeeze more in, I will, but Giant-Slayer: New World (Volume 2) and Young Justice: The Hunter are my stories most-heavy with RvB references.

 _ ***MHA***_

By the time Bakugou got back to Red Base, everyone else had already returned, all of them looking up at the scoreboard and the fluttering gold flag-shaped icon glittering in Blue Team's favor.

"Geez, who knew Uraraka and Gen-kun made such a powerful combo," Mina pouted.

"What do you mean?" Kirishima asked.

"I mean, Genki can't _fly_ on his own, but Uraraka's [Zero Gravity]…"

"The power to break free of one's earthly tether… A most wondrous boon indeed," Tokoyami hummed stoically.

"Well, if he tries it again, we'll be _ready_ for him," Sero said as he strung his tape between the buildings like party streamers.

"Icy-Hot. Freeze the flag over," Bakugou ordered the moment he got back.

" **That's against the rules,"** All Might spoke up from the intercom.

"Oh, and bear traps aren't?" Toru asked.

" **They didn't rig the flag itself in any way, and** _ **you**_ **should've been watching where you were going."**

"There's a certain irony in this. An invisible girl bested by an invisible trap," Tokoyami hummed.

"Hey, just because I'm invisible doesn't mean I can magically see _other_ invisible stuff!" the girl pouted, swinging her gloved hands around.

"So on top of invisible beartraps and fireworks, they could have just about _anything_ over there," Shoji hummed.

"We could try coming at them from below, but it might be a depth charge _showcase_ down there, kero," Tsuyu hummed as she looked down an open manhole.

"And for all we know, Blue Team's cooking up another insta-kill strategy right _now_ ," Mina sighed.

 _ ***MHA***_

"What do you _mean_ you aren't participating in the second round?!" Blue Team gawped.

"I want to test out one of my Sub-Quirks for the final round, but it's going to take _time_. That's why, during the second round, I'm going to be taking a momentary… 'leave of absence'," Genki answered, synching the item Momo synthesized to his tool belt.

"B-But you did so _great_ last time!" Ochako cried.

"Yes, and now they're going to make it so I _can't_ do that again," Genki answered. "Sero could cover the air with tape making an aerial approach a kamikaze run. If I don't lay enough oil on the ground beforehand, Todoroki will give me frostbite. If I try any of the back alleys, Tokoyami might get the power boost he needs to take me out and put that Capture Tape around my neck," he continued as he paced a large ring around the flag, a thick viscous oil spilling out of his soles as he walked. "This should slow Todoroki's [Subzero] down, but you guys are going to have to come up with a plan without me," he said as he finished the circle. "Each and every one of you could've stopped me in the Sports Festival if I hadn't gotten so lucky. That's why I believe in you _now_."

" . . . Mmh! We won't let you down!" Ochako nodded, pumping her fists. "We'll get the job done, so you go and get that 'super move' of yours ready for round three."

"Gotcha, neighbor!" Genki said giving the girl a thumbs up before bolting off, the oily blur vanishing in the distance.

A moment later however he zipped back into sight.

"However, before round to begins… how 'bout I give you guys a little… something _extra_ ," Genki chuckled mischeviously as he drummed his fingers together, a chuckle escaping his lips that made the others shudder.

 _ ***MHA***_

" **Round Two: BEGIN!"** All Might announced.

"Alright, slackers, listen up!" Bakugou raged. "I don't want that flag leaving that spot! Are we clear?!"

"Yeah…" Red Team returned, with little enthusiasm.

"Alright. Glad you got the message. Let's dig our heels in and cut them off as soon as they come out into the open."

 _ ***MHA***_

"WHERE THE FUCK _ARE_ THEY!?" Bakugou raged twelve minutes later, in which no-one from Blue Team so much as poked a _toe_ into their camp.

"Blue Team may potentially have the same idea as us; digging in and waiting to capture any forward party we send," Iida stated.

"That and Blue Team's in the lead one-to-nothing, so if we run the clock out, it's our loss," Mina pouted.

"Dammit, waiting around isn't getting us anywhere," Bakugou growled. "Icy-Hot! Guard the flag. Keep Soy Sauce Face, Streaker-Girl, Frog-Face, and Emo-Bird with you. The rest of us will hit Blue Camp," he declared as he started stomping away.

' _You're making it_ really _hard to want to win,'_ Sero, Toru, Tsuyu, and Fumikage thought simultaneously while Todoroki let out a tired sigh in response.

 _ ***MHA***_

" _Hey, Octopus Man. What do you got for me?"_ Bakugou ordered as he, Iida, Kirishima, Shoji, and Mina snuck towards Blue Base.

" _Hmmm…"_ the [Dupli-Arms] user hummed as six ears twitched and swiveled. _"I'm getting…_ interference _, of some sort."_

" _Interference? The fuck does_ that _mean?"_

" _He means there is likely some form of noise-maker interfering with his senses,"_ Iida stated matter-of-factly.

" _Sounds like… metronomes. Maybe… half-dozen,"_ Shoji nodded.

" _Damn Garbage Girl and her garbage Quirk, making random shit…"_ the explosive teen grumbled expletives under his breath, still seeing spots from when all those fireworks went off in his face.

" _Even without the metronomes, we're still looking at a two-to-one in favor of Blue Team,"_ Kirishima added. _"Not to mention, Gokiburi_ did _beat you-"_

"THAT WAS A _FLUKE_ AND YOU _KNOW IT_!" Bakugou raged.

"And like _that_ , our position has been given away," Shoji sighed, hearing the faintest traces of people shuffling around in anticipation.

Yaoyarozu's metronomes were doing an _exceptionally_ good job of dulling his senses at-range; provided everyone kept quiet so as not to give away their position.

"Well, they _definitely_ know we're coming _now_ ," Kirishima sighed.

"Oh I'm _coming_ all right… I'm going to come straight down their _throat_!"

"How _vulgar_!" Iida cried.

 _ ***MHA***_

The Red Team's forward party foregoing all forms of subtlety, a few minutes later Bakugou exploded out of the alley perpendicular to Blue Team's camp. His boots skidding across the ground and wresting his momentum, palms peppering with explosion as sweat poured out of his pores, ready to explode at the first thing that moved…

" . . . WHERE THE FUCK _IS_ EVERYBODY!" Bakugou raged, the explosive teen met only-with the sounds of the metronomes scattered across the camp, both high and low.

"Do you think they _all_ decided to attack our base camp, and we just passed them?" Kirishima asked.

"With ten individual walking patterns, I would've noticed them, metronomes or not," Shoji hummed as he turned to a "Yaoyarozu Brand" Metronome and stopped it.

"So then… they just left this flag here…? Completely undefended?" Mina asked looking right at it, the blue triangle of cloth flapping in the wind.

"No, I do not think so. This seems… too easy," Iida hummed.

"Whatever, let's just grab the flag and spring whatever trap they have for us," Bakugou grumbled as he stomped toward the flag. "And watch out for invisible bear traps!"

"THEY'RE IN POSITION!" Ochako shouted, poking out from a balcony overhead. "BOMBING RAAAAAAID!" she shouted, raising something above her head.

"ATTAAAAAAACK!" the members of Blue Team cried as they stepped through doors and poked their heads out windows, pelting Red Team from all sides with-

"WATER BOOOOMBS!" Mina cried as the water balloons beaned them all, coating them with…!

"HA! YOU THINK A LITTLE _WATER'S_ GOING TO STOP ME!?" the sopping wet Bakugou demanded as he _rushed_ toward the nearest member of Blue Team, Koda, right arm drawn back. "DIIIIIIIE!"

 _ ***poof***_

' _. . . NANIIIIIIII?!'_ Bakugou shrieked internally as his Quirk fizzled out. _'Wait a minute… This_ residue _…!'_

And like that, it hit him.

Well, that and another Water Bomb catching him right atop the head as he stood stunned post-dud-tonation.

"THESE WATER BOMBS! THEY'RE FILLED WITH SHIT-BUG'S _OIL_!" Bakugou roared over his shoulder, the advance party of Red Team sufficiently saturated and flip-flopping all over themselves in a growing puddle of oil and…

"Thanks for getting nice and _wet_!" Kaminari cackled as he rushed over to the growing puddle of Oil _and_ Water around their feet. " **Completely Discriminate Shock: Water Bomb Edition!** " the [Electrification] user declared as he put his hands to the water, electrocuting four fifths of Bakugou's forward party and dropping them to the ground like lead weights.

"DAMN IT ALL!" Bakugou raged, lunging towards the flag if nothing-else.

He absolutely _refused_ to come that far only to utterly _fail_!

"N-No you don't, Kacchan!" a familiar stuttering voice called from on high, descending straight towards him from a second-story window, the sun at his back obscuring the weapon held in his arms.

" **Release**!" Ochako cried, giving Izuku back his personal gravity a few feet above the ground, Izuku levelling a "Yaoyarozu Brand" Super-Soaker at Bakugou's direction; this one featured sleek brown cockroach-like armor, done up in an adorable chibi-style.

" **Goki Oil Flow: Goki SHOTGUN!** " Izuku called out as he pulled the trigger, the built-up pressure loosing a cone of Oil all over Bakugou, smothering him from head to toe in the Mutant-Type teen's bodily secretions.

Bakugou, left sputtering and spitting, the soles of his boots barely keeping him upright, Momo rushed in from a nearby building, twirling an improvised Capture Weapon above her head.

"I've got you right where I want you!" Momo shouted as she rushed toward Bakugou from another building, twirling three weighted balls overhead linked together by a white-colored band shaped in a **Y**.

"DAMN GARBAGE GIRL!" Bakugou growled as he got his feet underneath him.

Before he could leap away however, Izuku pulled him into a Full Nelson from behind.

"YAOYAROZU-SAN! _NOW_!" the green-haired teen cried, struggling against Bakugou's flailing and the oil covering him.

"Let's go! **Yaoyoro-Bola!** " the raven-haired girl cried as she flung the trio of weights Bakugou's way, the slipping teen getting an arm tangled up instead of a leg.

" **BLUE TEAM WINS ROUND TWO!"** All Might announced.

"WHAT?!" Bakugou raged, looking down at the Bola around his arm, body beginning to tremble with unrestrained rage.

Wrapped around his arm wasn't any _ordinary_ Bola. The trio of bands were made of _Capture Tape_!

"I can't _BELIEVE_ THIS!"

" **Believe it!"** All Might proclaimed. **"It doesn't matter** _ **how**_ **Capture Tape gets wrapped around you just as long as it forms a closed loop around any part of your body. No-one ever said it had to be applied by hand; excellent thinking, Yaoyorozu!"**

"Y-Your praise is more than I could ever hope for," Momo said with a smile, heart filling with pride as the No.1 Hero showered her with praise.

Just the sort of confidence-boost she needed after her less-than-stellar performance at the Yuuei Sports Festival.

However, would it truly be enough?

"GRAAAAAAH!" Bakugou raged as he stomped off, ripping the Yaoyoro-Bola from his forearm as he violently shook the oil from his body.

 _ ***MHA***_

"God _damn_ it!" Bakugou swore as he stomped back to camp. "Even when Shit-Bug's not around, he's _still_ screwing with me!"

"Which just begs the question; where _is_ he?" Iida wondered as he looked around.

"You think he went out-of-bounds?" Kirishima asked.

"I don't think any out-of-bounds was formally _established_ ," Shoji answered.

"I… have a very _bad_ feeling about the next round," Mina shuddered, the neon-pink hairs on the back of her neck standing on end.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm sure we've seen the worst of it," Kirishima said patting her on the shoulder, only to draw his hand back when he left a print of oil. "Uh… Oops."

"Don't worry about it. If anything, I'm actually _loads_ better off than _that_ guy," Mina said as the oil slid off her hydrophobic costume, a finger pointed at Bakugou whose uniform had no such feature.

"RAAAAAAAGH!"

 **To Be Continued…**

 _ ***MHA***_

 **AN:  
Sorry for the delay. Hit a bit of writer's block.**

 **I'm hoping things will pick up after the Internship Arc, though I** _ **do**_ **have a little surprise in store for after** _ **this**_ **arc.**


	19. Capture the Flag: Round 3

**Oblivious IJ:** Hehe Garbage girl making random s***~

 **NeoNazo356:** That seems like the juvenile sort of thing Bakugou would call her, yes.

 **Carlmike94:** Oh… he's gonna have an army of minions, isn't he?

 **NeoNazo356:** You'll find out in a few minutes.

 _ ***MHA***_

"Holy crap… I can't believe how _well_ that went," Kaminari sighed as he slumped against a wall, the last of the adrenaline rush he'd felt leaving his system after Red Team's forward party left in defeat.

"So, I take it the plan was _successful_?" he asked looking at the large puddle of oily water on the ground as he made his way back into camp.

"Yeah! Momo's plan to have us hide with metronomes all over the place worked like a _charm_!" Ochako cheered, the [Creation] user blushing at the praise. "Where have _you_ been?"

"Oh… _around_ …" Genki replied cryptically. "Yaoyorozu-sempai."

"Hai?"

"I was wondering if you could make one last item for me. It's nothing _big_ , don't worry, but I kinda need it before the next round so I can test something out."

"Ah, well, if it's in my Yaoyorictionary, it shouldn't be any problem," Momo replied as she took the lexicom from the back of her Yaoyoro-Belt and split it open, she and Genki standing shoulder-to-shoulder as they flipped through the pages.

A minute later and Momo created something with her Quirk, item held up in cupped hands which Genki slipped into his utility belt before he himself slipped into the shadows to go who-knew-where.

While this was going on, the rest of Blue Team was in the middle of their discussion. In particular, wondering if they were really pulling their weight this time around.

"Still, I feel like he's doing the heavy lifting," Ochako hummed. "Using his Quirk to make that much oil before going off to do… _whatever_ he did, has gotta be pretty _exhausted_."

"Hey, Yaoyorozu, what'd you make for him before he _left_ anyway?" Ojiro asked.

"Just an ordinary squirtgun," Momo answered with a shrug.

"Really? Like one of those little _hand-held_ ones?"

"Yes, he was quite specific about that detail, something small with a low fluid reservoir," she clarified.

"So instead of the Super-Soaker I used to stop Kacchan's advance, he has a small hand-held squirtgun…" Izuku hummed aloud. "What could he be plotting? If he really wanted to douse someone in oil, he could've taken the Super-Soaker _himself…_ "

And like this, Izuku went off into his own little world.

"Well one way or another, Red Team will probably find out what he has in store for them the hard way," Sato hummed, arms crossed. "This… is a little underwhelming to be honest."

"Yes, well, it isn't like we can go up against them in a straight-up fight. Todoroki _alone_ could incapacitate most of us in one shot," Ojiro stated, a shudder running along the bottoms of his feet at the memory of his swift and total defeat.

"So… Do we just defend the flag?" Sato asked.

"He didn't specify. I think he wants us to trust our own judgement on the matter," Momo stated as she took her bo staff in hand and stood at attention by the scoreboard. "Time's almost up. Round three will start soon."

"Comrades! Let us make this victory simply _stunning_!" Aoyama proclaimed proudly.

 _ ***MHA***_

 **"Round Three: BEGIN!"** All Might announced, the whole of Red Team tensing their muscles in anticipation; some eager for the fight, some worried about what was to come.

"Octopus Guy! Keep an ear to the ground and tell me where those Bluetards are coming from! Soy Sauce Face! I want those nets you're making nice and large! Icy-Hot! If Bug Boy shows his ugly mug, freeze him solid!" Bakugou ordered, the gauntlet thrown down. "The rest of you losers, don't fuck this up for me!"

" _So_ inspiring…" Mina grumbled to herself, feeling less and less motivated with every word that came out of his mouth.

"I feel bad for whatever Hero Agency he interns at next week…" Toru hummed aloud.

"SHH!" Shoji shushed, one finger raised up while he took to a knee, his other five appendages forming ears on the ends. " . . . Something's coming."

"Where from?" Bakugou demanded.

"It's… It's coming from all _around_ us," Shoji said as he stood at full height, eight eyes circling around every direction.

"You think Blue Team's going on the offensive?" Toru asked worriedly, still wincing from that "invisible" bear trap they'd caught her with.

"Unlikely. We have too many heavy-hitters for them to risk a full-frontal assault," Todoroki answered, frost ghosting his right side.

"Octopus Guy! Are they coming or _not_!?" Bakugou demanded, his patience, or what _remained_ of it, swiftly vanishing.

"I don't know! It's like… thousands of tiny feet, skittering all _around_ us."

"Tiny feet?" Tsuyu asked with a tilt of her head.

"I have a _baaaaad_ feeling about this…" Mina shuddered.

"Look! Over there!" Toru cried, a finger pointed down the street.

" _Where_?! I can't see your _hands_!" Bakugou raged at the still-invisible girl, her clothes still in a pile off to the side.

"O-Over thereAUGH!"

The next moment an oily blur rushed through their group faster than the unaided eye could follow, cries of "Urgh!", "Gah!", "Huh?", and "Iyagh!" leaving Tokoyami, Sero, Tsuyu, and Mina's lips after Toru's own outburst as clear fluids spattered them on the cheek, neck, chest, and forehead respectively.

 _ ***CRACK***_

"Todoroki!" Iida cried as the dual Quirk-user was struck in the chin by the attacking blur, a hand going to his collar and stopping him from busting his head on the asphalt.

"BUG BASTARD!" Bakugou raged.

"Sup?" Genki asked casually as he set the insensate Todoroki down and tied a band of Capture Tape around his wrist before levelling a small squirtgun at Kirishima and spraying him in the face, followed by Shoji and then Iida in rapid succession before they could react.

"Huuuh? A squirt gun? Is that the _best_ you can do?!" Bakugou said mockingly.

"Obviously _someone_ doesn't know the mechanics behind _attack pheromones_ ," Genki said with a smirk as he rushed up to Bakugou well beyond the teen's reaction speed, stuck the squirtgun in his mouth, and pulled the trigger, the spiky-headed teen gagging as the clear fluid struck a sensitive area.

"Gah! Blagh! What the hell was _***BOOM!***_ _that_?!" Bakugou demanded as he took an explosive swing at the oily-haired teen.

" _That_ , Crater Face, was me ringing the _dinner_ bell," Genki said ominously as he dodged his swing.

"Dinner bell?" Iida asked confusedly, his feet shifting as he sought a better grip.

"Everyone! The noise is getting louder!" Shoji called out, his multiple ears twitching like crazy as a tidal wave of _chittering_ noises washed over him.

 _ ***Scritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritch***_

 _ ***Scritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritch***_

 _ ***Scritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritch***_

 _ ***Scritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritch***_

 _ ***Scritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritch***_

 _ ***Scritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritch***_

 _ ***Scritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritch***_

 _ ***Scritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritch***_

 _ ***Scritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritch***_

 _ ***Scritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritchscritch***_

"AAUUUUUGH! C-C-C-C-C-C-C-COCKROACH _EEEEEEES_!" Mina cried as hundreds, nay, _thousands_ of cockroaches began to encroach upon them from all sides, the ground absolutely _smothered_ in shiny brown exoskeletons, the pink-skinned girl scampering _furiously_ up a nearby lamp post, Tsuyu following after her in a single bound and hauling her up.

"WHERE DID THEY ALL _COME_ FROM!" Toru cried as she scrambled atop a nearby postbox to escape the horde.

"These simulated cities must be filthier than we thought," Shoji hummed as he backed away.

"The underbelly of modern society is rife with pestilence," Tokoyami said as Dark Shadow hauled him up a wall and away from the street.

"Goodness gracious! They're _everywhere_!" Iida cried out, spine trembling in unsuppressed _revulsion_.

"GRAAAAUGH!" Bakugou roared as he kicked up debris, only for the horde to continue towards him unabated.

"Tsu-chan! _Do_ something!" Mina cried, her feet kicking helplessly through the air.

"I'm _*munchmunchmunch*_ eating _*munchmunchmunch*_ as _*munchmunchmunch*_ fast _*munchmunchmunch*_ as _*munchmunchmunch*_ I _*munchmunchmunch*_ can _*munchmunchmunch*_ " Tsuyu said between bouts of chewing, her tongue flicking out onto the lamp post the horde bellow was crawling up and retrieving the unflavored morsels into her mouth. "Hmmm… They're better with soy sauce," she hummed to herself.

"That's not _helping_!" Mina cried frantically, skin threatening to crawl right off the bone as she flung handfuls of acid downward, only for most of it to slide off their oily hides.

The shrieks they let out when her [Acid] _did_ work wasn't much better.

"It's helping _me_ ," Tsuyu hummed as she continued to devour the readily-available protein sources.

Her entomophagy had nothing to do with her family's Quirk, they just happened to be a cost-effective food source.

Although her Quirk _did_ help with the sentiment…

"Why aren't they bothering _Todoroki_?!" Kirishima cried as he stomped frantically, swatting at his body just-as-frantically as the tidal wave of roaches scurried up his frame while the unconscious half-and-half was completely _ignored_.

"It's because he didn't get sprayed with Genki's attack pheromones!" Shoji answered.

"DAMMIT!" Bakugou raged as he blasted the ground around him, carpet bombing the street. "GET BACK HERE!" he roared as Genki hoisted the flag from its pedestal.

"Talk to the hand!" Genki called out as he swung out his right palm, spatters of transparent fluid leaping through the air before splattering over Bakugou's costume.

A moment later the cockroaches surrounding him became _super-_ agitated, their wings buzzing madly as they leapt into the air, a cloud of oily bugs whirling like an angry cloud.

"OH MY GOD! THEY CAN _FLY_?!" Mina cried as the fluttering of cockroach wings met her ears, the explosive teen being overwhelmed a moment later.

"I'm sorry comrades, but cockroaches give me the _creeps_!" Iida cried as he bolted from the camp at full throttle, casting aside any would-be stowaways clinging to his armor.

"IIDA YOU TRAITOOOOOR!" Kirishima cried as he used [Hardening], threw himself to the ground, and began to roll, the arthropods bursting like crunchy pimples against his hardened skin. "OH GOD! THIS ONLY MADE IT _WORSE_!"

"Don't worry guys! As soon as I get this back to Blue Base, I'll let my little friends know it's time to go home!" Genki called out over his shoulder, casually strolling away while Red Team was clenched in various fits of terror or just unable to follow.

"YOU BASTAAAAARD!" Bakugou raged, the spiky-haired teen buried up to his neck in skittering, oily bugs.

"Are you going to eat that?" Tsuyu asked with a finger on her chin.

"GRAAAAAAAGH!" Bakugou raged as he sent explosions every which way, each one weakening in intensity.

 _ ***MHA***_

Elsewhile…

" _EYAAAAAAUGH!"_

"Some girl's in trouble!" Ochako cried out as a shrill voice pierced the afternoon air.

"What do you think Genki is _doing_ to them?" Kaminari asked as cries of terror continued to echo through the cityscape.

"P-P-Perhaps he called upon his bloodthirsty horde and loosed them upon the enemy?" Aoyama stuttered as he imagined Genki clad like Hitler, countless platoons of cockroaches dressed like stormtroopers all of which were marching and extending the Nazi salute.

"You have a _very_ active imagination," Ojiro said plainly while Koda shuddered at the thought.

"No, actually, he may have the right idea," Izuku hummed as he began scribbling in his pocket notebook, tiny pen in hand. "If we assume his full-body Mutation-Type Quirk includes _pheromonal_ abilities…"

"Who knew cockroaches could be so _terrifying_ ," Momo hummed as the shrieks of terror continued to echo. "I shudder to imagine the damage he could cause if he were a _villain_."

"N-Not that _I'm_ afraid of cockroaches, but I agree with you there," Kaminari nodded in agreement.

" _WOW_ this was easy," Genki hummed as he languidly strode into Blue Base, planting the red flag firmly in place at their pedestal. "Flawless victory!" he whooped enthusiastically, self-confidence at an all-time high as he left an entire team of prospective Heroes quivering in fear in his wake.

 **"BLUE TEAM WIIIIINS!"** All Might announced bombastically. **"Now, would you kindly mind calling off your horde? Red Team's getting… well…"**

"Curbstomped by roaches?"

 **"I was going to say 'overwhelmed' but THAT WORKS TOO!"** All Might replied just-as-bombastically, trying to put a positive spin on things.

"Alright, _fiiine_. I'll stop Crater Face from getting eaten."

"E-E- _EATEN_?!" Izuku gawped, the color draining from his face.

"Oh, don't worry. Bakagou's too _greasy_ to make for a good meal," Genki waved off. "I think."

"You _THINK_?!"

"But don't you feel bad about sending them to their deaths?" Ochako asked as not only shrieks, but _explosions_ rung through the air. "You know… with how you _talk_ to them and all."

"Cockroaches don't have enough brainpower for 'complex thought' like you and I, so it's less like I'm _talking_ to them and more like I'm 'nudging' them in the direction I want them to go," Genki said plainly, Izuku scrambling furiously in his notepad at the newfound information.

" . . . Would it be wrong if I said I felt vindicated?" Ojiro asked a moment after Genki had left Blue Base.

 _ ***MHA***_

"Tsu-chan! Are you okay?" Mina cried, having finally managed to climb atop the lamp post.

"Can't eat anymore. Kero…" the froggy girl groaned, draped over the light fixture alongside Mina.

"Get 'em off! Get 'em off! Get 'em O-HO-HO-HOFFF!" Toru cried as cockroaches seemingly floating in midair were flung every which way.

"I am going to need SO MANY SHOWERRRRRRS!" Kirishima cried out, sparks and bits of his costume flying.

"Yeah, no, I'm just going to stay up here where it's safe," Sero said as he hung upside-down like a certain arachnid-themed superhero.

"Take this! **RED BLADE OF JUSTICE: METEOR STORM!** " Tokoyami cried as he dual-wielded rolled-up newspapers, [Dark Shadow] doing the same as they swat frantically at the ground around them.

"ARRRRRRGH!" Bakugou roared through the writhing mass of cockroaches covering his body.

" _Oh_ how the _mighty_ have fallen," Genki sighed as Red Team continued to lose their collective shit. "HAVE NO FEAR, FOR I AM HERE!" he announced bombastically.

 **"Hey! That's _my_ line!"** All Might cried.

"You can't own _words_ All Might!"

"Can you just save us already! If you act fast I'll forget the time you put your crotch in my _face_!" Mina called out.

"Alright, alright, I'm getting on it."

The next moment he raised his arms and rotated them at the shoulder, his armpits exposed to the open air as he walked around in a circle.

"What the fuck are you _doing_?!" Bakugou raged, spitting out cockroaches before he spoke up.

"Sending out the 'Go Home' pheromones, what do you _think_?" Genki said as he continued to waft himself out.

"As long as it sends these creepy crawlies home, I don't care _what_ it looks like!" Mina cried.

"Hurry _up_ , please!" Tokoyami cried out as he and [Dark Shadow] continued to rain blows on the horde around them.

Black cloaks and sweat-inducing labor against the unending hordes did _not_ mix.

 _ ***MHA***_

 **Sorry for the delay. Life happens, but I hope it was worth the wait.**


	20. Lockers & Ladies

**dperson3569:** Whoa, that was brutal. I would probably develop a fear of cockroaches.

 **NeoNazo356:** Yep. Nothing quite like inducing fear like thousands of roaches marching upon you when you stink of "Attack Pheromones".

 **Phenomenal Ultra Instinct:** LOL! Oh no! Their reactions to so many cockroaches swarming them was absolutely hilarious. Iida's sudden retreat didn't make it any better. Bakugo's explosion was no use against them as these guys were known to survive nuclear fallouts. The girls, barring Tsuyu, were losing their collective ***. Would the cockroaches really have eaten any of them if Genki didn't nudge them away? Regardless, pheromones are a nasty and dangerous superpower.

 **NeoNazo356:** It just seemed right that the normally-stoic Iida, _especially_ him, would lose his shit over something straight out of a horror film.  
As for Bakugou's explosions, it isn't that cockroaches can survive the _explosion_ , it's that they can survive the _fallout_ better than humans; radiation can still kill them. The reason Bakugou's [Explosion] got slowed down once the horde swarmed him was because their collective [Oilpiration] ability _retarded_ his Nitroglycerin Sweat's ability to Oxidize. No oxidation, no ignition; no ignition, no explosion.  
As for whether the roaches would've actually _eaten_ any of them… Remember that scene from Jurassic Park: Lost World where those teeny tiny dinosaurs (Compsognathus) ate that one guy in the riverbed…?  
As for the [Pheromone] Sub-Quirk, it's only a powerful ability if it's used _properly_. "Useless" powers CAN be lethal in the right hands.

 **Ultimate-Zelda-fan:** Genki should try telling you can't own words to Donald Trump!You're fired!")

 **NeoNazo356:** Well, given MHA is implied to take place in the year "22XX" (8 "superhero generations" of [One for All] don't mean the same thing they do for regular people), Trump would've been dead for _well_ over a hundred years before then.

 _ ***MHA***_

To say that things were tense in the locker room after the somewhat-early conclusion of Capture the Flag would be an understatement.

Most of Red Team were good sports about it, despite the cockroach-induced fits of terror they were sure to experience after the ravenous horde had been sicced on them. _Bakugou_ on the other hand… did _not_ share his team's sentiment.

Then again, since his body was _riddled_ with teeny tiny bite marks from the horde's mandibles, his consternation was somewhat understandable.

It also didn't help he was still butt-hurt from getting beaten by him in the Sports Festival; never mind the fact that the entire _country_ had borne witness. His peers from middle school mocking him for it at every opportunity didn't help matters either.

Todoroki, who'd been carted away after receiving a picture-perfect unconsciousness-inducing knee to the chin hadn't been aware of the whole thing, but given he could've frozen all of them solid, Genki choosing to concuss _him_ made an amount of sense.

Since the exercise had ended the day a little early, Red Team had ample amounts of time to wash the oil (and arthropod viscera as-applicable) from their bodies, so in a way they _appreciated_ that Genki had ended things so-quickly instead of dragging it out; even though the defeat _had_ stung so much.

Suffice it to say, _no-one_ would underestimate the arthropodal teen ever again.

Or no-one from 1-A at least.

The Hero Course students cleaning up after an _arduous_ Hero Basic Training exercise, after a rather thorough showering-off, the students began making small chat amongst themselves; one topic of which elicited a somewhat _confused_ response.

"Uh… Could you run that by me again?" Genki asked confusedly. "I think I had something crazy in my ear."

"I said… Who is your waifu?" Sero repeated.

"And once again I reiterate… _HUH_?!"

"He's asking which girl you like the most," Kaminari stated.

" . . . Okay but _whyyyyyyy_?"

"Duh, because it's just us _guys_ here and you're part of the group," Kirishima stated.

"Yeah, this is _totally_ the sort of thing guys talk about in their off-time," Sero added. "What, did you never have chats like this in middle school?"

"Everyone always thought I was _filthy_ , so I never got to talk to people so-casually like this," Genki replied somberly, his antennae drooping at the memory.

"Yeesh, tough break, dude," Sero said consolingly. "Anyway, for me it would _totally_ be Midnight. I would _kill_ to make her my waifu," he said changing the subject with a grin on his face.

"What about you? What's _your_ poison?" Kaminari asked. "It doesn't even have to be a pro, it could totally be another girl at school."

"What, like the vine-haired girl who kicked your ass?" Genki asked flatly. "What, you into BDSM? Want her to _whip_ you some more?"

"He-Hey! That is _too_ personal!" Kaminari said with a blush.

"Come on, spill, who do you think's the cutest?" Sero asked. "You aren't _gay_ are you-"

"No, I'm one-hundred-percent _straight_ ," Genki said flatly.

"Just checking, dude," Sero said holding up his hands. "So… Who is she? Is she a _pro_ , or one of your classmates? A crush from middle school?"

"What's your fetish?" Kaminari said straight-out. "Come on, we're not trying to kink-shame you or anything, we really want to know what your tastes are."

"Complete honesty…?" Genki asked with a slowly reddening face. "I'm into Mutant-type girls."

"Wait, is this because your mom's a total MIL-"

"Finish that sentence and they'll never find the _body_ ," Genki hissed at Sero, the [Tape]-user jumping out of his skin in terror. "And no, it has nothing to do with my mother… Okay maybe not _nothing-_ nothing… But I don't have an Oedipus complex if that's what you're getting at."

"Is it Mutant-type girls _exclusively_ , or is that just your preferred flavor?" Shoji asked.

"Yeah, what's wrong with hotties like Yaoyarozu?" Sero asked.

"Well, I mean, _objectively_ , I can say that Yaoyaorozu-senpai is attrac _tive_ , it's just… On a _biological_ level I'm just not attrac _ted_ to her in the same way _you_ guys would be," Genki elaborated.

"So you're saying you can understand her appeal from a purely _aesthetic_ point of view, without the _biological_ factor influencing your decision?" Izuku questioned seriously.

Being the "Quirkless loser" he was in middle school, he was never really included in interpersonal dialogue like this, so he was still a bit _formal_.

"Pretty much, yeah," Genki anwered. "It's like… Any girl that could pass for 'normal' in the Pre-Quirk Era just doesn't _do_ it for me, you know? It isn't that they all 'look the same', it's just, they look kinda… _bland_ , I guess. When it comes to Mutant-Type girls, obviously there's going to be differences between whether or not they're animal-based, or if their archetype would fall into the 'Harcore' or 'Softcore' demographic."

"You sound like you already have your eye on someone," Kaminari said with a grin as he stroked his chin.

" . . . Alright, I'll talk, but it never leaves this room," Genki ordered.

"C'mon, spill the beans. Who do you got the hots for?" Sero asked.

" . . . The girl I like the most is Tsu-chan," Genki answered, causing eyes to go wide at his rather _unique_ choice, since "conventionally" she wasn't as _objectively_ attractive as her peers, at least from a purely aesthetic standpoint. "It's just… She's the perfect blend of softcore and hardcore Mutant-type… Those big expressive eyes you could get lost in… that adorable curve of her lips as she smiles…" he trailed off wistfully. "I mean sure, Ashido-senpai is cute too, but she doesn't make my kokoro go _doki-doki_ like when I look at Tsu-chan," he said geeking out with a dopey look on his face.

"Kokoro…?"

"Doki…doki…?" Sero and Kaminari asked with a confused tilt of their heads as they processed _what_ just came out of his mouth.

"The only reason I'm saying this out loud is because the locker rooms have a foot of solid concrete between them and there's no way any of the girls will ever _know_ about this," Genki sighed. "That is _literally_ the only reason I'm saying this."

"Actually, Kyoka-san's [Earphone Jack] would allow her to do exactly-that," Izuku said matter-of factly. "By piercing a solid object with her earlobes, she's able to sense sound vibrations through solid objects similar to a stethoscope, or a high-definition ultrasound."

" . . . "

"Ah, what I meant to say was-"

" **Ultimate Move: Goki Blast**!" Genki raged as he suddenly blasted the aforementioned wall.

" _EYAAAAAAGH!"_ a shrill voice cried from the other side.

 _ ***MHA***_

"I cannot _believe_ you would do something so depraved!" Iida chastised a minute later once the girls were out of the locker room.

"I don't see what the big deal is. I was just making sure no-one was trying to dig a new peep-hole through the wall," Kyoka muttered as she nursed her ears.

"Do you honestly have so-little faith in your comrades you'd even entertain the notion that _we_ would entertain such a notion?!" Iida demanded. "That such a thing would happen when Mineta is no longer a part of our class!?"

"Well… When you put it _that_ way…"

"Just look at what you've done to our newest comrade! He's absolutely _traumatized_!" Iida raged as he ripped Kyoka a superfluous new… you know what I mean, as he rapidly gestured to Genki at the other end of the hallway, his knees tucked into his chest as he buried his beet-red face in his hands.

While the others bickered about the merits of pre-emptive pervert-busting and trust between classmates, Tsuyu broke away from the group and walked down to the hall. The female members of Class 1-A looking around Iida's shoulder, the hall steadily grew quiet as more and more attention fell on Tsuyu as she approached the morbidly-embarrassed [Gokiburi] teen.

The oily-haired boy oblivious to Tsuyu's presence as he tried to make himself as small as physically possible, after a few moments, Tsuyu tapped him on the shoulder, the teen nearly jumping out of his skin at the contact.

"A-Asui-I mean-Tsu-chan!" Genki stammered as he looked up at her.

"Did you really mean all those things you said about me?" Tsuyu interrogated, her voice a mix between stern and even… hopeful?

"H-Hai…" Genki replied nervously. "Since I thought it was 'just us guys', I didn't really see a problem with making my thoughts on the issue known. Not after the others opened up to me like they did," he continued.

" . . . "

"I-If you aren't interested I-I understand-"

"Genki."

"H-Hai?!"

"Would you like to go out after internships next week, kero?" Tsuyu asked with a tilt of her head, jaws dropping around them while Mina's eyes went wide and she squealed with glee.

" . . . "

 _ ***Creeeeeeeeeak***_

 _ ***Thud***_

"Aaaaugh! He fainted!" Izuku cried as his classmate tipped over, frozen in place like a lawn ornament with a wide-eyed look on his face.

"Way to go, Tsu!" Mina cheered.

"Talk about _girl_ power!" Ochako said enthusiastically.

"Yeah, don't let the good ones get away!" Kyoka added.

"I _knew_ I saw you blushing when you looked at his butt!" Toru giggled.

"Ugh, so _vulgar_ ," Momo hummed with a hand to her lips, the grin she had perfectly concealed.

"Huh… Maybe he's _on_ to something," Sero hummed as he looked at Tsuyu in a new light.

"Hey, back off! She's taken!" Toru said clapping her hands over his eyes; for all the good it did her.

"Yeah! Don't get in the way of my _shipping_?!" Mina cried shaking a fist at him.

"Ne, Genki, you alright?" Ochako asked as she poked him in the cheek.

"Hn. Unresponsive," Shoji hummed.

"Should we take him to Recovery Girl?" Izuku asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll snap out of it in a couple minutes," Ochako said as she pat him on the back with all five fingertips, the insensate teen listing into the air like a balloon.

 _ ***MHA***_

 **AN:  
WHAM! Didn't see **_**that**_ **coming, didja?**

 **Guess we all know who Genki's "Best Girl" is.**

 **GO BEYOND!**

 **EXCELSIOR!**


	21. Onee-sama Ensemble

**NeoNazo356:** Even though _this_ Review is far from the first made for the previous chapter, I felt like it warranted a first-response in the read-back because of how much thought was put into the content. As long as there's _basis_ for thoughts like this, I don't consider it "flaming", and any constructive criticism I can get is a tremendous help because it's the only way for me to know if the approach I'm taking to telling a story is excellent, adequate, or merely lacking.  
Also, Roserader had their PM setting set to "Posting Denied", and while I have no way of knowing if that was done intentionally out of spite or just because they don't like their site experience muddied up by randos asking them random questions, I at the very least want to reply to their thoughts in a conclusive manner if the previous chapter hasn't made them "rage quit" the story or whatever it is you kids call it these days.

 **Roserader:** While the reaction was cute, I am sorry to say I am not a fan of the pairing. I have always found biological predator/prey relationships to be weird. I mean the girl was stuffing her face with roaches just last chapter. Lastly, while I am understanding that the character's upbringing and background has given him certain characteristics that he is attracted to, I do not get him being so attracted to Tsu. I mean he grew up in an Idol agency around girls who were probably way more attractive in whatever way he defines attractive. I like Tsu for her honest realistic personality. but I doubt either she or Genki would be okay with dating someone you only knew for a few weeks at most. It is one thing to have a physical attraction for certain features, it is another to act on that attraction to a classmate who you will spend years of time with. Honestly, I just don't see how he is acting as being realistic to his character background, and I don't see Tsu accepting to go out with him as being realistic to hers. I could see her being flattered and slightly embarrassed, but she is to realistic to jump into a relationship with someone she barely knows, yet knows she might spend years at school with. As Mr. Aizawa said "they are not here to socialize", the kids are all seriously focused on becoming heroes. So, in conclusion, I am sorry to say that I did not like this chapter, and wish it had never been added to the story. I love the story from the past chapters, but this one stepped the line of awesome character with an interesting background and realistic minor crushes/fetishes, and became more romantic interest/wish fulfillment/generic power fantasy where OC scores the author's waifu. I don't want to see that happen to this story. The OC is too good and properly developed to have the story devolve into one of the thousands of other shoddy OC stories.

 **NeoNazo356:** I once again want to reiterate that I _appreciate_ the constructive criticism I've received through this Review. The Reply I make isn't simply to repudiate you out of spite, but because I want to take the time to address the accusations made, defend certain narrative choices, while still admitting that your commentary has made me think of story aspects that haven't had the chance to come up in the narrative in a _declarative_ sense.  
Hold onto your butts, 'cause this one's a doozy. Ahem.

First off, Genki's infatuation with Tsuyu isn't _purely_ because I want to write in a predator/prey dynamic (as a reflection of Tsuyu's relationship with Habuko Mongoose), nor is it _explicitly_ due to his place in the Mutant-centric paradigm of Superhuman Society where Mutants are inherently separated from Emitters and Transformers (and thus more-likely to be attracted to (and attrac _tive_ to) other Mutants). Also, Genki's manipulation of Cockroaches is the same ethical dilemma that Aquaman (DC Comics) has to explain when eating seafood (more-specifically, _fish_ ); ordinary cockroaches aren't "intelligent enough" to have "complex thought" like other Humans, but instead it's more like he's "nudging" them into the direction he wants them to go. He isn't having a full-on conversation the way that Koji Koda would, it's more analogous to a human directing a sheep dog to direct sheep. And while Aquaman _does_ eat fish and it not counting as cannibalism in the same way that Humans eating Monkeys doesn't count as cannibalism, while Genki has a _taste_ for Cockroaches, as Cockroaches are "opportunistic cannibals" and this aspect of their biology extends to him as a "Cockroach Breed" Mutant, for _psychosomatic_ reasons he chooses _not_ to, and wouldn't inherently be "bothered" by Tsuyu eating cockroaches in his presence, nor would he be bothered to learn that this is the _counter_ she chose to make after he doused her with "Attack Pheromones".

As for why Genki isn't choosing to date within the Ares Idol Agency's stable, that isn't _purely_ because I "ship" Genki/Tsuyu, and it goes beyond the whole "perfect blend of softcore and hardcore Mutant-type features" he stated in the declarative sense last-chapter.  
First off, Genki was 11-ish when the Ares Idol Agency started up, so he developed a brother/sister relationship with the stable early-on, and as a consequence of this, he's become a bit of an "institution" within the Ares Idol Agency. In the same way that guys can become "friend-zoned" if they hang out with a girl long-enough without any romantic subtext, Genki has become "zoned" into the "Otouto" (lit. "Younger Brother") archetype.  
Following this, _because_ his parents run the Ares Idol Agency, there are certain societal stigmas that would make dating within his family's organization… complicated; for _both_ parties. In the same way that the sleazy son of a CEO could use his family's position within the company to put _pressure_ on a girl to extort sexual favors, Genki dating within the agency could be _viewed_ as "taking advantage" of his family's position in-company. Even if this _weren't_ the case, the fact that a _scandal_ could ensue from a relationship like this would be detrimental to his _personal_ aim for becoming a Hero; his reason is _deeper_ than simply "it's what my parents did" or "it'll let me use my Quirk and earn boatloads of cash".  
On the opposite side of things, _because_ Genki is the child of the CEO (and his Personal Assistant), any girl that dates him or even attempts _romancing_ him (Younger Brother "zoning" notwithstanding) runs the risk of _upsetting_ her employers if Genki himself is in any way "upset"; be it in the short or even long-term. Even if they were to date for a while and then part on "mutual terms", the underlying fear would still be that her place in the idol business could be damaged if Oki felt like her son had been "hurt". And it isn't just the _parents_ any girl in-agency would have to be worried about. The other girls in the agency who want to protect and nurture him could _also_ be angered if Genki were to be hurt emotionally, so any idol within the agency would be worried about making enemies on _all_ sides.  
For the above reasons, not only would dating within the idol agency not be _feasible_ , it also wouldn't be practical for either party.

Another thing to consider is that in-story, Genki was speaking _very_ candidly; scratch that, _EXTREMELY_ candidly. He didn't think anything would _come_ of it because he was under the assumption that anything he said would be held in confidence (due in part to a desire for "comradery" the nature of his Quirk denied him in his primary schooling), and he certainly never expected a classmate in the other room to be actively _eavesdropping_ on them. And most of all, he never expected _Tsuyu_ to express any kind of follow-up.

Something I also want to point out is that the previous chapter's events are in no way a _confirmation_ to any specific pairing. Genki and Tsuyu could just as easily date for a time before realizing they don't have the sort of "chemistry" that'd be conducive to a romantic relationship, and simply remain as really good friends without any emotions being hurt. Tsuyu for her part might be "throwing him a bone" since, due to not being "conventionally attractive" by non-Mutant standards, was potentially "passed over" by other boys her age in lieu of more "conventionally attractive" options in Middle School, and as such might be giving the love-life a trial run since she doesn't have any experience, and she doesn't necessarily _dislike_ him in the way that she did Mineta (before he got transferred out of Yuuei in Chapter 12: One Shall Stand, One Shall Fall).

As for the "wish fulfilment" angle you've brought up and Vigorous Vitality devolving into "one of the thousands of other shoddy OC stories", for the aforementioned reason, this story and Genki's interpersonal relationships aren't going to be as cut-and-dry as Genki being interested in Tsuyu and Tsuyu deciding to go steady with him. Real life is messy, _doubly-so_ for High School, and if you've paid attention to previous chapters, you'd see that Tsuyu isn't the _only_ girl in his circle of acquaintances with associated "Flags" about her.

Once again, I'm not arguing the points you made in your Review purely to repudiate you; I greatly appreciate the constructive criticisms you've provided, because it shows you genuinely _care_ where this story goes. It's just that in light of the inability to reply to your PM _directly_ , this is the only way I can think of to actively _reply_ to any comments you've made.  
For this reason, I hope that _one_ chapter hasn't completely put you off from this story and ruined it for you, but that I ask you to be patient and try to follow this story a little longer because there's a great deal more nuance than most OC-centric stories have.  
I certainly wouldn't have put so much cryptic foreshadowing in during the Sports Festival if it were going to be something so-straightforward as the OC getting with his "waifu" and being done with it.

Also, my _personal_ "waifu" isn't an over-sexualized teenage girl half my age, so me _alluding_ to the OC pairing with Tsuyu isn't explicitly "wish fulfillment" in the same context that other OC/not-OC M/F stories are written. Just wanted to put that out there.

 **Ragnas Bredvolts:**...my ship... it sunk (;n;) ... I thought it would be Momo ... wahaaahhhhhhhhhhh ...

.  
Wait...did he...just said...that... Momo... ... was..,... "bland"...HERESY! HHHHEERRRRREESSSYYYYY! HERESY OF THE HIGHEST ORDER, HOW DARE YOU GOOD SSIIIIRRRR! HAD THE AUDACITY TO EVEN INSINUATE SUCH THING. HERESY! HERESY! HERESY!  
*STATIC*.

.

.

.  
Now onto next segment, waifu, fetish and poison well my would be actually two Momo and Rumors,,, Ahhhhh the two of them are the polar opposite from one another but I just can't choose between the two. Momo the calm,collective,talented woman who seems to be the Madonna of my eyes and Rumors, the blunt, passionate and energetic woman who never shy away from a good fight and always speaks her mind. Ahhhhh two sides of the same coin, the vanilla and chocolate in my cake, Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh the waifu that make me heart go, "doki doki"...

.  
Anyway that will be all for now and may you have a GLORIOUS DAY TODAY!

P.s he learned that "kokoro" and "doki doki" from his idol sisters right?

 **NeoNazo356:** Sorry that "Moki" isn't going to be a thing, but Genki's fetish doesn't encompass her body-type. If she had some animal ears and/or a tail, maybe, but since she's "Default Human", she isn't his "B".  
As for the "kokoro" and "doki doki", TECHNICALLY they're all _speaking_ Japanese, but it's being _presented_ in English. Such are the trappings of being on a higher dimensional plane; us on the Third, them on the Second.

 **Marbled Gold:** I gusse you can say that Tsuyu thinks Genki is a...crunchy snack with some soy sauce, cause she likes him

 **NeoNazo356:** Yeah, I guess that's _one_ way to put it.  
Guys can be "snacks" _too_ , you know.

 **Phenomenal Ultra Instinct:** Now we definitely know who Genki's ideal girl is. Tsuyu! What a sly cockroach Genki is. Mhhhmm! The Genyu/Tsuki pairing has come to life. GO BEYOND, EXCELSIOR!

 **NeoNazo356:** Huh, glad All Might and Stan Lee's conjoined catch phrase is catching on.

 **Memory25:** This is one of the few fanfictions with Mutant-type Quirks...but even if it WASN'T it would still be amazingly well-written and thought out! I like that you didn't go for the more 'popular' anthropomorphic animal/bug types and straight up chose the penultimate 'pest'. It's very Japanese of you haha (they make anything cute lol).  
I am also loving the science and politics you've written into the story. Since BnHA is full of high-schoolers, it's kinda a given that languaging is a little on the...layman side. But I've always liked world-building and deep-delving into the how it works part of things. You've definitely satisfied my wishes in this story!  
Kudos to you and here's to your journey as a writer never ending!  
I also like the irony of Tsuyu the 'frog' who EATS cockroaches and Genki the 'cockroach'.

 **NeoNazo356:** Cockroach "anthros" can be cute if you know where to look. And yeah, I recognize the _irony_ of a Cockroach anthro in JAPAN. I'm glad you think it's written-out well, and the world-building is something I like to expand upon in my work too. The tidbit about how something like _Infatuation_ works among Mutant-Types was also very fun to write for, since the definition of "human" can be radically different.  
And yeah, there's the whole predator/prey irony between Genki and Tsu, like between Tsu and Habuko, both of which are "totes adorbes".

 **P.S.  
Sorry for the delay. Major case of writer's block combined with hitting a hot streak in my other works.  
Hope the chapter before the "Internship Arc", as well as the "Internship Arc" itself, are well worth it.  
I swear I'll try to update more-frequently.**

 ** _*MHA*_**

"Congratulations, Genki-san!" Ochako said with a smile as the two followed their peers out of Yuuei at the end of the day. "Not only did you manage to win Capture the Flag, but you also have a date with your dream girl all lined up!"

"D-D-Don't word it like that! It's embarrassing!" Genki stammered, face flushing bright red. "Still… I _am_ pretty happy with how things turned out, I _will_ admit," he said grinning broadly. "Although… I can't help but feel like she's just throwing me a bone…" he said as his antennae drooped slightly. _"Maybe deep down she's just taking_ pity _on me…"_

"Hey, Tsu-chan isn't that kind of girl!" Ochako pouted.

"T-That's right! She wouldn't want to hang out with you for no _reason_!" Izuku stammered.

"I guess you're right," Genki nodded.

"Just don't let your interpersonal relationship interfere with your _school work_ ," Iida said adjusting his spectacles.

"Way to kill the _mood_ , Robo Cop," Genki huffed.

"Hey, looks like you aren't the _only_ one who got lucky today," Kaminari hummed as he ribbed Genki lightly. "Look over there," he said pointing to the open gate.

Brown eyes following the [Electrification]-user's finger, Genki saw the Class 1-B student, Jurota Shishida, on the receiving end of a real life Kabedon, aka "Wall Slam" with a blush to match. While Jurota's 5'81/2" was impressive, especially for a Japense, the girl standing above him _literally_ stood above him at a half-foot taller than him. She was clad in a white sundress with frills and lace, a thin white choker with a golden ring around her neck, her eyes a deep sunset shade of orange, her light-blue hair going down past her waist and flaring out in all direction.

Of course what really stood out about her were her Mutant-Type characteristics; white fur covering her forearms up to the elbow, her legs from the mid-calf down similarly covered in white fur, four toes instead of five tipped with sharp-looking black claws. Her feet were clad in sandals instead of conventional shoes, colored white with blue accents.

"Normally I don't go for super-tall girls, but I'm really starting to see the appeal," Kaminari hummed as he eyed the girl up and down.

"Miti-oneesan? What's _she_ doing he-… Oh no…" Genki muttered as the color began to drain from his face.

"Genki-san, do you know that girl?" Ochako asked with a tilt of her head.

"This is bad… This is _really_ bad…" Genki said as he was suddenly on high alert, his head and antennae darting every which way.

"Why? What's wrong?" Kaminari asked as Genki's eyes finally settled on the open gate itself.

"I think…" he shuddered as he felt the air coming through the gate shifting… "you're about to find out."

"THERE HE IS!"

"GET HIM!"

A moment later, and a throng of Mutant-Type girls began pouring in through the gate, squealing and giggling playfully.

The veritable menagerie consisted of mammalian, reptilian, avian, aquatic, amphibian, and arthropodic. Some of them were 'Softcore' Mutants resembling pre-Quirk cosplay, others 'Hardcore' resembling "a Furry's wet dream". Their attire displayed a rainbow of colors complimenting their various animal features, all of which very trendy. The girls possessing varying heights, musculatures, and "proportions", the sheer variety allowed the collective to appeal to a wide target audience, a demographic that enveloped a fairly large portion of the Idol Girl fandom.

Despite their aesthetic differences, they all had one thing in common.

 _None of them_ , were Yuuei students.

"Why isn't the gate _closing_!?" Izuku cried as he frantically threw himself to the side of the stampede.

"The Yuuei Barrier must not be able to close while a student is standing directly _within_ it!" Iida cried as he observed where Jurota was standing; if the Yuuei Barrier _did_ close, the extra-hairy teen (and the extra-hairy girl accosting him) would've been split in half down the middle.

"But why are they here?" Momo yelped, idly noting that some of the larger-framed girls had larger "frames"; so large in fact she didn't think it was physically possible.

"No way…" Sero gawped, the students eyes turning to the rear of the line where two of the students had been completely surrounded.

Gokiburi Genki, and Uraraka Ochako.

Didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who of the two the horde was here for.

"Gen-chaaan~ So _this_ is where you ran off to~"

"You don't call, you don't write. I'm _hurt_ ~"

"What did you think of my bento?"

"You look so _cute_ in your school uniform~!"

"Gen-chaaan~ I've got a victory hug with your _name_ on it~!"

"Why have a hug when you can get a victory kiss?"

"Dude, I'm not sure if I envy him, or _pity_ him," Sero shuddered as he saw the way the collection of "monster girls" were eyeing Genki.

"Genki! Run! They're about to _pounce_!" Kaminari cried as he observed several girls with cat-like features getting ready to do just-that.

"Tsu-chan!" Genki cried as he grabbed Ochako's wrists and made her cup her own cheeks, the bubbly girl thrown upward as soon as gravity lost its hold on her. A long prehensile tongue snaking its way around the now-nauseous girl's waist, the brunette was pulled to safety moments before the horde bulldozed Genki from all sides with a loud **_*THUD!*_** of bodies colliding, a writhing mass of teenage girls all struggling to get a piece of him, with quite a few panty shots abound.

"Damn…! What a way to _go_ …!" Kaminari winced, turning the other cheek but taking the occasional sidelong glance.

"What a way to go indeed…" Sero awed. "Rest in peace, man," he said drawing a cross across his chest.

 _"Wait, look!"_ Kaminari whispered, all eyes turning to the side of the horde where Genki managed to wriggle his way free, snake-crawling across the ground outside their collective notice.

The throng still blissfully unaware that their quarry had escaped _all_ of them, Genki let out a sigh of relief before an- "Ah- _hem_ ~" -cut the panicked haze of his mind.

Sweat now trickling down his brow, brown-colored eyes slowly craned up to behold a short girl clad in a full-on Gothic Lolita dress. Her hair was light-brown colored, short and wavy, a pair of light pink ribbons worn in the sides, her eyes a dark violet color, and a parasol with a conspicuous-looking handle resting lightly over her shoulder.

"Gen-kun… Where do you think you're going?" the goth-loli-clad girl asked sweetly.

"O-O-O-O-Oba-san…!" Genki yelped.

"Wait, that's his _aunt_?" Izuku gawped.

"Ah, so it _isn't_ just his mother who looks that young," Shinso hummed thoughtfully, his leave for home delayed by the shitshow happening in the school courtyard.

"Mou…! What kind of diet and exercise plan would let me look _that_ good at their age?" Toru asked, the others gaping at her slack-jawed.

"Wh-wh-wh-wh-what're you d-doing here…?" Genki stammered.

"Oh, you know~" the young-looking woman said sweetly as she strode toward Genki, the oily-haired teen skittering backward before getting to his feet. "I just wanted to catch up… give you a _hug_ for doing so well in the Sports Festival~" she said holding her arms wide, Genki's back hitting one of the busts lining the path. "What's the matter? You look like you're not happy to _see_ me~"

"O-O-O-Of _course_ I'm happy to see YOU!" Genki screeched as he dove to the side, the goth-loli's arms wrapping around the bust he'd just been standing next to with a **_*CRASH!*_** , solid marble crushed to powder and gravel much to 1-A's collective shock, Izuku sketching out the just-destroyed bust in his notebook and trying to calculate the shattering-force required to break a solid marble bust of the estimated size and weight so-thoroughly.

"Really? Then where's that 'Konnichiwa, Oba-san' hug you always have waiting for me?" the woman asked, wiping away the marble dust from her clothes as though she _hadn't_ just crushed solid marble like Styrofoam.

 **"IIII am _here_!"** All Might bellowed as he jumped down from the roof, clad in his pinstripe yellow suit as he interposed himself between Genki and the statue-crusher.

"All Might-san~ You wouldn't try and get between a girl and her godchild… _would_ you~?" she asked, a bit of familiarity leeching its way into her tone.

 **"Miss, no matter how-noble your intent, I _must_ ask that you-"**

Before the Symbol of Peace could place his hand upon her shoulder and escort her out, the young-looking woman in the goth-loli dress took hold of his wrist and flipped him ass over ankles, burying his head into the brick road at their feet with an earth-shaking **_*CRASH!*_**.

And this wasn't a _comical_ sort of superhuman strength for the sake of being comical. This superstrength was _legit_ because in a world of Quirks, muscle mass didn't. Mean. _Shit_.

Doubly-so because the woman was only 165cm tall.

"Now…" the woman said clapping the dust from her hands, "where _were_ we?" she asked aloud as though she _hadn't_ planted the Symbol of Peace into the ground like a vegetable.

"AH! I recognize her now!" Izuku yelped.

"You _do_?!" the others gawped.

"Hai! That's Kabutomushi, the Herculean Hero! She's widely regarded as the strongest female Hero in Japan if not the _world_ , and also has an established hobby for cosplay!"

"What do those two things have to _do_ with one another?!" Iida cried out.

"So wait, you're saying she's as strong as All Might?!" Kaminari gawped.

"N-Not necessarily! While _no-one's_ 'as strong as' All Might, and proportionally she's far _smaller_ than him. Her _true_ power…"

The now-named Kabutomushi whipping out her parasol, the implement unfurled into a long spear, the head splitting down the middle making it resemble the horns of a male Kabuto beetle.

"…lies in her dexterity used in _tandem_ with her strength…" Izuku continued; coincidentally as the woman's spear whipped out at all the space surrounding her, the rubberized rounds Snipe sent her way from all angles batted aside harmlessly with a yell of-

 **"Kabuto Slide!"**

"Holy _crap_!" Iida gawped before composing herself, all their eyes going wide as Snipe's rounds fell harmlessly in a circle around her, the now-known Pro Hero giving a curtsy like nothing had happened at all.

"It seems our reunion will have to _wait_ , Gen-kun. Looks like _I_ have to teach some wannabe cowboy some _manners_ ~" Kabutomushi said with a sweet smile as she strode over towards Snipe, a sweet smile on her face, the weight of her spear shown by the deep furrow it made through the bricks as she ambled lazily towards him.

"That lesson's going to have to wait!" Midnight called out as she tore a gap in her ultra-thin suit. **"Endorphin Smoke!"** she called out as a pink haze spilled out towards her.

"Oh, Midnight-chan, when are you _ever_ going to learn?" Kabutomushi asked sweetly as she swung out her spear a second time, an enormous wall of air pressure whipping out and sending the aromatic smoke completely backwards, washing over Midnight and the male faculty gathering up behind her.

Izuku could only gape because that kind of pressure manipulation he'd only seen from All Might _himself_.

"I… think it's time for me to _gooo_ …" Genki stammered as he tip-toed his way toward Yuuei's gate, only for a shudder to run up his spine as he felt numerous eyes on him. The arthropodal teen craning his head around, a shudder ran up his spine as several of the reptile-attribute girls' heads snapped towards him, their thumbs and index finger forming spectacles around their eyes as they called out-

 **"Pit Vision!"**

"Huh?" Kaminari asked confusedly.

"Oh! Certain snakes have Pit Organs which they use to sense heat, essentially giving them natural thermographic vision!" Izuku blurted out as he began taking more notes.

"Crap!" Genki cried as he bolted for the gate, only for an absurdly-fast Mutant girl with a snake tail to slither past him, all eight meters of her serpentine tail surrounding him.

"I have you now~" she squealed happily, constricting him from ankle to waist and burying his face into her bosom, lovingly stroking his hair and rubbing her face into the crown of his head.

"Oh crap! She's _got_ him!" Kaminari winced as he saw the squeeze getting put to the oily-haired teen.

"Geez, Mineta would have a _field day_ with this," Sero said as he glanced between the gaggle of idol girls grasping for a boy that wasn't at the bottom of the pile, and then to the slightly-older busty snake-girl smothering Genki in her twin peaks.

 _'Crap_ … _! Her grip is too strong_ … _!'_ Genki cursed as his face was buried further into the snake-girl's funbags, his cutaneous respiration the only thing saving him from blacking out. _'I can't sweat my way out of this through my uniform, and if I call for help the girls will know I'm not down there anymore.'_

The feel of his bones beginning to creak moments later, made the decision for him.

Gathering up as much air as he could, the arthropodal teen let out a **Goki Hiss** , whipping up his head in the brief moment of freedom he'd bought himself from the neck up in order to call out- "Ah! Onee-san! You're _hurting_ me!" -in a pitiable whine.

"Let him _go_ , snake bitch!"

A moment later and the lamia-like girl was hauled away from Genki as powerful talons belonging to a harpy-like girl wrapped around her shoulders. A bout of infighting occurring between reptilian and avian Mutant girls, Genki took the opportunity to slip away, but with so many "onee-samas" wanting to coddle and pamper him, it was only a _momentary_ reprieve.

Especially when the girls in the pile caught wise to the fact that he'd made his escape.

 _'Shit. I didn't think I'd have to whip this out so soon,'_ Genki thought to himself. "OCHAKO!" he cried out, the brunette looking his way. "GET READY TO DO THE _THING_!"

"The thing?" she blinked owlishly before gasping in realization. "OH! The _thing_!"

"What 'thing'?" Izuku asked.

"Hu hu hu~ Isn't it obvious?" Ochako asked conspiratorially. "We're gonna combine!"

"They're gonna combine?"

Sero.

"They're gonna combine!"

Kaminari.

"They're gonna _combine_?!"

Mei.

"They're gonna combine~?"

Kayama.

"How _vulgar_!" Iida yelped.

"Not like _that_ you dope!" Ochako cried with a red face as she slapped Iida, sending the [Engine] user pinwheeling through the air before opening her arms. "I'm open!"

"Right!" Genki nodded, blitzing towards her and she to him, balling up his jacket and tossing it at her the moment they passed. Genki quickly skidding to a halt with bursts of air, his elytra opening, as the gaggle of girl idols stampeeded towards him like a wave of flesh, he bolted off with a cry of- **"Goki Thruster!"**

Izuku, Shinso, and Mei shielding their eyes as a cone of dust was kicked up into their faces, a tide of feminine flesh sweeping past them a moment later, Izuku's eyes widened as he caught sight of Ochako before the Yuuei Barrier, arms waving above her head and cheeks puffed out as she floated a foot above the ground.

"GATTAI!" Genki cried as he and Ochako clasped one another's wrists, the buzzing of his wings carrying the weightless pair out of the Yuuei Barrier like a bullet fired from a gun, the two swinging wide before disappearing from view entirely.

"He's making a break for it!" one of the "monster girls" cried.

"You're not getting away!" another shouted.

"Yeah! I still want my oil massage!" a third shouted as the tide of flesh swarmped past Shishida and Miti before rounding the corner.

A second after _that_ …

"BLUUUUUGH!"

Followed by a-

"KYAAAAAAAH!"

Followed by an-

"EWWWWWWW!"

-from passerby.

"So _that's_ why he didn't want his army of 'Onee-samas' around for the Sports Festival," Shinso hummed off to the side.

"I can't feel my fingers…" Izuku whimpered as his pen fell away from his notebook, which was now filled with observations from dozens of Mutant-type girls.

 ** _*MHA*_**

 **You wanted Genki's army of "Onee-samas". You've got them.**


	22. Onee-samas Escaped

**LoamyCoffee:** A wonderful army~ Can Genki's potential love interests survive their combined protective might?!

 **Re:** Well, she/they only have something to worry about once _word_ gets out.

 **OmniarchOnePunchSuperman:** *Whimper* What did I just read? Genki's aunt is the second woman from his family that is just as terrifying if not more so than his mother.

 **Re:** Most of his family are from Battle Shounen where all the characters model themselves after organisms that've had millions of years to turn themselves into apex predators within their own niches; i.e. insects. Spider-Man has the "proportional strength off a spider", so obviously anyone with the "proportional strength of a Hercules beetle" would be terrifying in their own right.

 **dperson3569:** This was a weird chapter.

 **Re:** It can't _all_ be Muscle Tower/Dark Tournament arcs.

 **superpierce:** love Genki he is a great character with a very original backstory.

 **Re:** Thanks. I just got so tired of seeing so many Naruto crossovers, you know…?

 _ ***MHA***_

"God that was so horribl _uuurrgh_ …!" Ochako groaned as she dry heaved into a trash can, the throng of estrogen-driven idol girls left far behind after a litany of hairpin turns and in-a-single-bound leaps over numerous buildings.

"There there…" Genki said rubbing her back with one hand and keeping her hair out of her face with the other. "Let it all out. You'll be fine. You did a great _job_ back there."

"A… Arigatou…" Ochako said holding up a shaky thumbs-up, before returning to her retching.

"I really mean it. If you hadn't tag-teamed with me, I'd be a _dead man_ right now," he complimented.

Had he said "if you hadn't _combined_ with me", passerby would've given them strange looks.

Reason he _didn't_ say that was because, now that he was in the Hero Course, he was _extremely_ self-conscious about his public image, and thus knew when to keep his mouth _shut_.

A picture may've been worth a thousand words, but even _one_ word taken out of context could do more damage than even the most _grotesque_ of recorded images.

Then again, they _were_ in Japan and the Age of Consent _is_ different there than for a western audience.

Hmmm… Thought for another day, I suppose.

"Glad… Glad to be of… assistance…" Ochako groaned.

"How 'bout I buy you some takeout for saving me… And maybe some mouthwash," Genki offered.

"You don't have to…"

"No no, I insist. You really saved my bacon. Buying you dinner's the _least_ I can do."

"Oh, uh, well, since you're offering… can I get ramen?" she asked bashfully.

"Whatever kind you want."

"And mochi?" she asked hopefully.

"As much mochi as you can carry."

"Arigatou…" Ochako nodded with a smile, still reeling from the dry-heaving.

"C'mon, let me help you up," Genki said throwing her arm over her shoulder, guiding her to a nice ramen joint.

 _ ***MHA***_

After dropping by a convenience store and getting Ochako some mouthwash so the aftertaste wouldn't ruin dinner, Genki and Ochako stepped into a ramen shop within walking distance of the train station, Ochako's eyes going wide when she saw-

"D-D-D-D-Deku-kun?! What're _you_ doing here!?" Ochako gawped at who was greeting them.

"G-G-G-G-Genki said you escaped his oneesamas " Izuku returned, a crimson flush dominating most of his face. "I-I-I-I wanted to make sure… you were alright, and Genki invited me to have an early dinner with you guys."

" _You're welcome,"_ Genki whispered into her ear, her cheeks flushing brighter. "Glad you could come, Izuku! So!" he said clapping a hand on their shoulders. "You decide who you're going to be interning with?"

 _ ***MHA***_

"Gran Torino…?" Genki hummed as he ate from an extra-large bowl of ramen with everything in it, Ochako tackling much the same with gusto since she was being treated on the other side of Izuku.

"Y-Yeah… All Might recommended him to me," Izuku answered. "S-S-S-Since my Quirk is similar to _his_ , he said his old teacher would be able to help me with mine."

"Well, I hope things go well for you then. Not that you don't have stopping power on your own, but breaking your fingers every time you use your Quirk… With how purple your fingers were turning, it was enough to make my _stomach_ turn," Genki said sticking out his tongue. "Not to _mention_ how much something like that would impact your popu _larity_ …"

"Y-Yes, I'm going to work very hard on that," Izuku answered, looking down at his scarred-up hand. "Good luck with Edgeshot."

"Yeah, I'll learn as much as I can," Genki nodded as he downed a deviled egg. "Ninjas might be a little niche, and not-so-little cliché, but until I can get my **Cockroach King** under control, I'll probably be an ambush-type hero like Alice-obasan."

"A-Another auntie…?" Izuku asked, his voice quivering.

"Ah, don't worry. Alice-san is _much_ calmer than Kabutomushi-chan."

"Wait, that's her actual _name_?"

"She had it changed. Got _really_ into her role as a hero once she graduated. Its less-popular to do that _now_ , but back in the day it gained a bit of traction."

"So she dresses like… _that_ , while on-duty?" he asked confusedly thinking back to the goth-loli.

"Her reputation precedes her as one of the strongest female Heroes in the country capable of bending steel with her bare hands. As a girl who can put just about _anyone_ through a wall, it's hard for her to put down speedier villains if they can see her coming a mile away in her flashy costume, so sometimes she cosplays to hide in plain sight," Genki answered. "Of course, it helps she hasn't aged much since she was a teenager, so you can probably imagine what that's done for her fanbase."

"I-I really can't…" Izuku stammered.

"Ah, don't worry. You'll catch on eventually," he said sliding some bills under Izuku's hand, earning a confused look for the greenette. _"Go treat that girl to some mochi, get in her good graces,"_ he whispered causing Izuku to flush a brilliant shade of red as his eyes darted between the boy at his right and the girl on his left. _"You're welcome~"_

Slipping out of the ramen joint after his play at matchmaker, right as he was about to head for home, a massive hand grabbed onto his shoulder.

"UWAGH!" Genki screamed in fright, legs kicking out like pistons.

"Oh! Ow! Wait! _Wait_! It's me!"

"Jurota?" Genki blinked.

"You've _got_ to help me!"

"With _what_!?"

"Miti-chan asked me out on a date after my internships, but I have no idea where to _take_ her!" the hairy teen said with a panicked look on his face as he shook the smaller teen back and forth.

"Oh, so you're already on a first-name basis," Genki hummed plainly.

"Please help me! She's the most-beautiful girl I've ever seen and I don't wanna screw this up!" Jurota pleaded.

"Does it have to do with the hair?" he asked with a completely straight face.

" . . . Yes," Jurota answered after a moment.

"I'm not kink-shaming you, I just wanted to make sure," Genki stated. "All things considered, you're her ideal guy; tall, strong, lots of hair so she doesn't feel self-conscious about her _own_. I can't even _begin_ to tell you how long it took that girl to shave her legs before she got comfortable in her own skin and _stopped_."

"She really did that?" Jurota blinked as he adjusted his spectacles. "She didn't seem the type."

"Oh yeah, she _really_ came out of her shell after a few dance lessons and some fan letters," Genki nodded. "Now, seeing as how you're basically Miti-nip, here's a couple of things you'll need to know about her so you don't bomb the hot date you have lined up," he said in a change of tone, causing Jurota to blush under his fur. "Miti-oneesan likes to eat since she has a very active lifestyle, so barbecue's definitely the way to go; that being said, don't call her _out_ on having 'a healthy appetite', she's still self-conscious about that and I'll shove those spectacles where the _sun_ don't shine if you make her cry, capeesh?"

Jurota in turn nodded frantically.

"Next, she likes romantic walks on the beach, but not _in_ the water; she hates that 'wet fur' smell and saltwater's murder on the hair."

Jurota scrambled for a piece of paper and started taking notes.

"Also, one of her fantasies is being 'rescued' from a band of 'punk perverts' looking for 'a good time', so don't be afraid to show off some muscle."

"Wait, _seriously_?" he asked incredulously, a furry brow raised.

"Well, to some extent _every_ girl dreams of being 'rescued' by their dream guy, but that's not the point," Genki clarified. "I think it's just the _novelty_ of being 'fought for' that she wants, but don't go looking for trouble. With a girl that pretty, trouble'll find _you_."

"I see…" Jurota hummed, scribbling it down. "You're… being awfully _cool_ about this."

"Why? Because she's my 'oneesan'?" Genki returned. "She might not be blood, but I grew up with most of those girls, and I just want them to be happy, so if that means watching her reel in a good guy, well… You seem an okay sort to me, soooo…" he hummed throwing an arm over the teen's shoulder and drawing him down to eye level. _"If you break Miti-chan's heart, I swear to god, I will turn you into the world's_ whiniest _sock puppet."_

"But-"

"Shoulder. _Deep_. Jurota!"

"R-R-Right, right!" the furry teen stammered, bowing frantically.

"Nice to see you understand my meaning," Genki said with a well-meaning smile. "Now, quit making so much noise. If any of my onee-samas are still skulking around they'll-"

" _I heard Gen-chan's voice just now!"_

"CrrrAAAAAP!" Genki cried as he ran away, a trio of Mutant-type girls rounding the corner before bolting after him.

"After hiiiiim!"

"Don't let him get away!"

"There's no barf girl nearby to save you _this_ time!"

"We know where you live!"

"No you don't, otherwise you'd have just waited for me _there_!"

"Crap! He knows!"

Meanwhile, back at the ramen stand, left in Genki's wake was a very confused Mutant-Type teen, and two Emitter-Types awkwardly trying not to convey _how_ awkward around one another they were.

 _ ***MHA***_

 **AN:  
Next chapter we get back to the action with the Internships Arc, I swear. Hopefully now that I can get back to the action, _and_ the worldbuilding, it'll make up for the short chapters in the interrim.**

 **GO BEYOND!**

 **EXCELSIOR!**


End file.
